


Every Tomorrow With You

by iceiceiceiceice



Category: Free!
Genre: F/M, Lovers to Friends, One Night Stands, Pregnancy, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-31
Updated: 2019-05-11
Packaged: 2019-05-16 15:46:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 32,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14814272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iceiceiceiceice/pseuds/iceiceiceiceice
Summary: The morning after always ruins a perfect night so when Sousuke and Akane agreed they would only last one night, Sousuke couldn't help but panic a little when the girl showed up at Samezuka Academy weeks later. Even worse, she was looking for him.





	1. ONE

**Author's Note:**

> disclaimer: I do not own the Free! series, all credits of canon elements go to the creators

Shrugging off the random boy who had swung an arm around him, Sousuke caught the distinct scent of cheap beer and wrinkled his nose. Not that he had any right to judge. He had one or two cups himself of whatever it was that someone concocted in the punch bowl. But at least he wasn't drunk. No, he had enough self-restraint for that.

It was a party, hosted by an old friend and senior of his from Tokitsu before he transferred to Samezuka Academy that year, but Sousuke barely knew anyone there. This was not a place he wanted to get drunk.

The boy pushed his way through the crowd to go upstairs, maybe find a room he can rest in away from everyone. He tried a couple of doors—one locked and the other, very unfortunately for the couple within, not locked—before stumbling into one seemingly empty room.

' _Seemingly'_  because he almost didn't notice the lone girl lying on the bed in the middle of the room. She turned her head to Sousuke upon his entry.

"S-sorry," he heard himself mutter and then exasperatedly, "I thought it was empty." He made to leave but another voice stopped him.

"No, it's okay. You can stay."

Sousuke looked at her.

The girl smiled—a little too calmly for someone who looked like they weren't about to get up anytime soon (couldn't or wouldn't?), in his opinion. She was spread-eagled across the sheets, only the lower half of her legs hanging off the bed. Sousuke wondered if she was drunk or high or something.

"I don't bite, stranger." She giggled. "And I doubt you'll have much luck with the other rooms either."

Sousuke didn't move further into the room but didn't exit it either. He just stood there, a foot away from the open doorway where music from downstairs streamed through. "It's a big house. I doubt there are people screwing in _every_ room."

The girl let out a real laugh at that which led him to believe she may have had a similar encounter to his. "Probably. But I heard someone puking their brains out in the next room so I thought I'd save you the trouble." She turned her head to the ceiling once again.

Sousuke spent another moment to ponder it before closing the door behind him and taking measured steps towards the bed. "What did you say about biting again?"

He could hear the smirk in her voice. "I don't—unless you're into that."

In the dim light, he noted the long brown hair splayed out around the girl's head as if she hadn't bothered to lay herself down properly. The rest of her was attractive too, he'd admit. He leaned against the bed post at one corner, looking down at her.

"You really should be more careful about being so inviting. Other guys might take advantage of that."

" _Other guys_ ," she echoed, lips pursing. "Not including yourself?"

"I'm a gentleman."

She laughed again, showing how her nose crinkled now that he had a closer view. The sound made Sousuke smile though he had no idea why he was flirting—could it even be called that? It wasn't like he was trying to get laid but he couldn't resist a little banter with the pretty girl.

"Well, _respectable_ stranger, what has you seeking solitude?" Her arms shifted, the first movement from any other part of her body aside from her head. She rested her hands on her stomach, one on top of the other, and Sousuke's eyes followed.

Sousuke shrugged, gaze returning to the grinning face. "Not interested in partying, I suppose."

"Then why come to it in the first place?"

"Kijimata-san used to be my senior. I thought it'd be polite."

"How old are you?"

"Eighteen."

"Senior in high school yourself, huh?"

"Yeah. You?"

"Eighteen, senior."

"Ah." The silence only lasted five seconds and wasn't necessarily uncomfortable but Sousuke realized quickly that he wanted to revive the conversation. "So how come you're by yourself?"

A pause. "Who said I am?"

Cerulean eyes wide, Sousuke whirled around in panic. Shit, d-did he miss someone?

A snort answered the mental question for him. Sousuke turned to see the girl on her side, clutching her stomach as she laughed wholeheartedly. The skin at the edges of her eyes wrinkled too. A smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "Nicely played." While he waited for her to stop, he seated himself on one the side of the bed, perpendicular to the girl.

Nevertheless, he scanned the room more carefully this time. The walls were mostly bare and so was the desk and chair pushed up against one wall. They were in a guest room, he surmised. And definitely alone.

"I'm here because I got tired of the party too."

Sousuke turned his gaze to see the brunette still on her side, her head tilted upwards and dark eyes looking up at him through long lashes. He hummed in acknowledgement and rested his weight on his hands pressed into the space behind him.

The girl nodded. "Yeah. Especially after someone spilled their drink all over my shirt." Immediately, his eyes shot to the fitting striped shirt she wore, naturally looking for the stain. "I tried washing it out so I'm letting it dry now."

Embarrassingly, the boy realized he had been staring at her chest area and quickly tore his eyes away. If she noticed, she didn't let on. Sousuke hummed again. It took another few seconds for him to decide to slide his arms out of his jacket.

"It'll dry faster if you set it aside properly. Here, wear this," he said, holding out the black and white fabric. He had a dark blue shirt on underneath it so he didn't mind.

The brunette sat up, looking between the jacket and the person offering it. He came to realize that her eyes were not just dark, but seemingly obsidian in colour. Those and the dark brown of her hair contrasted her porcelain skin.

A hint of self-consciousness seeped into his mind but Sousuke refused to let it show outwardly. "Well?"

"I'm trying to figure out if this is your way of getting me to take off my shirt. It'll all be downhill from there."

This time, Sousuke was the one amused and he let out a sound like something between a scoff and a laugh. "I promise I won't peek," he cooed.

The girl didn't bother restraining her smile, looking as if she wouldn't mind if he _did_ peek. He didn't miss how her eyes flitted over his form either. "Thanks," she finally said, taking the jacket from him. Her fingers brushed over his wrist, lingering there longer than necessary.

Maybe the attraction was mutual.

She told him to turn around and he did, his back to her. All that happened only registered through his other senses and he couldn't _stop_ his brain from registering it. Sousuke felt a weight lift off the bed which meant she stood. The sound of shuffling indicated she was removing her wet shirt and putting on his jacket.

It was all very quick but Sousuke felt like she took her sweet time, teasing him, the minx. His heart thrummed in his chest—whose wouldn't if a girl was stripping behind them? But, ever the gentleman he claimed to be, he never tried to steal a glance at her.

"Okay."

The voice startled him more than Sousuke would care to admit. The boy righted the upper half of his body. His breath caught slightly in his throat.

His jacket was big on the girl, only her fingers peeking out from the sleeves. By his estimation, she was neither short nor tall but he was well aware of his own height to realize that he would tower over her if he stood up too. It was an enticing sight—even more so because she didn't pull the zipper all the way up. He could see an inch or two of skin below her collarbone. Something told him she did that on purpose.

To her credit, she behaved as casually as person could as she looked at the spot where she used to lay just earlier. Sousuke followed her gaze. There was a wet spot on the comforter, the size of the brunette's back. "Whoops," she muttered to herself before moving to sit next to Sousuke, directly on his left.

Closer than necessary. Her hands were on her lap which was clad in fitting blue denim. But if she were to put those hands by her sides on the bed, she would be touching Sousuke's left hand.

Yes, she definitely knew what she was doing. The boy had to refrain from smirking at that thought.

"You can return it before either of us leaves." He gave himself credit for sounding nonchalant too. "When are you leaving?"

The girl looked at him then, moving all of her wavy hair over her left shoulder. "I came with a friend but I think I'll be calling a cab whenever. So I guess you have me all night long." She playfully bumped the other's shoulder with her own, smiling too coyly for someone who had been pretty forward so far.

Before Sousuke could work up a reply, she let herself fall on her back on the mattress, bouncing minimally with a huff. Her hands were on her stomach again but as blue orbs followed, they saw a bit of skin there as the jacket had bunched up slightly around her waist.

"Lucky me," he heard his voice say. Realizing his words, Sousuke glanced at the girl's face. There was a pink tint to her cheeks he was sure wasn't there before.

"What about you, stranger? Need to rush home by midnight or anything like that?"

"My clothes aren't going to disappear soon, if that's what you're hoping for."

"What a shame."

Sousuke laughed, a good one this time. The brunette joined him. When they stopped, he gave a real answer, "No, I've got all the time in the world."

He saw her lips stretch into a smile, a shade of soft pink. "Lucky me," she said.

Trying not to think too much about his own actions, the boy leaned backwards until he was lying on the bed too. He didn't look at the person beside him.

"How's the jacket?"

It was something he was given when he joined the swim team at his new school. It was black with a single white strip running from the collar and down the outside of both arms, black arrowhead-like patterns along it. Red lined the white as well as the zipper and the sleeves cuffed at the wrists. The school logo was printed over the left side of the chest.

Sousuke had grown to like the piece of clothing, even wearing it outside of swim meets. Evidently.

The girl—whom, he realized, he still didn't know the name of—lifted the collar higher up over her face and inhaled once, letting her chest rise and fall exaggeratedly. She turned to her head to look at him. "Smells like you."

He scoffed. "You know what I smell like?" he mused, smirking.

Then she was leaning in, shifting onto her side, with one hand braced on his left shoulder and he thanked whoever was watching over them that it wasn't his injured shoulder. Because he really didn't want to have to push her off. Because her face was near the juncture between his jaw and neck now. Because when she breathed, Sousuke could feel the hot air fanning across his bare skin.

"Do you swim a lot? You smell like chlorine. So does your jacket."

"Is that all?" How Sousuke remained coherent surprised even him.

The increased pressure on his shoulder made Sousuke turn his head too. His heart jumped. He knew she had to be close for him to feel her breath but thought she would’ve moved away after. But no, the girl had rested her chin on the hand on his shoulder. So now their faces were inches apart and the fact that she appeared unfazed meant she intended this.

Her cheeks were still lightly flushed though as she stared straight into his bright blue eyes with her own black ones. "A girl can only gather so much in one sniff." Her thumb ran circles around the edge of his broad shoulders.

Sousuke didn't know whether he was thankful for the thin fabric separating her from skin-to-skin contact. In any case, for the life of him, he couldn't tear his gaze away. This close, he could see where her dilated pupils ended and her irises began, only a shade lighter than true black. _Onyx_ —that was a nicer adjective. The same way some people had described his eyes as cerulean rather than just plain ol' blue.

"What's stopping you?" He swallowed. Could she feel how his hard his heart was beating?

The brunette licked her lips. "My lack of that particular fetish."

Sousuke snorted a laugh. Despite the obvious anti-climax, he was laughing. The good kind, too—the kind that made him throw his head back and his shoulders shake. Through it, he could hear the girl giggling next to him too. Her nose had crinkled again. Must be a quirk of hers.

As his chuckles subsided, he shook his head at her. "Okay, you're fun."

The brunette shrugged, rolling onto her stomach and hoisted herself up by her elbows so she could look down at him. "Not too bad yourself. Most guys don't take too kindly to my sense of humour," she admitted, grinning with new warmth.

"Yeah, you definitely took a risk there."

"I see it as more of a test. The ones who don't laugh aren't worth it."

Sousuke quirked an eyebrow. "So I'm worth it?"

The girl half-suppressed her smile. "It would appear so."

"Lucky me."

She had been resting herself on her forearms but now she moved to loom over Sousuke more. "You said that already." She was giggling when she put a hand on his chest. Some of her hair had fallen over her ear, framing her face prettily.

The boy hummed, sure now that she could feel his heartbeat—though he could play that off to the previous banter. "I mean it," he said coolly.

"All jokes aside?" She was practically on top of him now.

"All jokes aside."

She smiled. "Good." Then she kissed him.

Sousuke's response was immediate, kissing back eagerly—really, it was a long time coming—and placing a hand at the back of her head to pull her closer. She parted her lips to allow his tongue entry and he could taste that horrible punch from the kitchen downstairs. He bet he tasted the same.

But beneath that— _oh_ , she tasted great. Like fresh cherries you could only get by the countryside, the ones you pick right off the plant.

Okay, maybe his mind was romanticising it a bit but _still_.

By the time Sousuke was groaning into the kiss, she had moved her knees onto either side of his legs to straddle him. She swallowed every noise he made, letting out some of her own too. One of her hands was still splayed on his chest, supporting her weight, while the other grazed the hairs at the top of his neck.

His own hands were now on her sides, caressing it through his much larger jacket.

Yes, they definitely took too long because by the way things escalated so quickly, it felt like they were trying to make up for time lost on teasing. Not that he minded.

The door creaked open and then slammed shut. The pair had jolted apart in surprise, both looking at the source of the interruption. _"There's a lock for a reason, damn it!"_ someone yelled from the other side.

He could feel the shuddering exhale the girl atop him let out. Sousuke laughed a little too. When she faced him again, he leaned up to kiss her again. He only managed to brush over her lips though because she pulled back, not getting off him but staying just out of reach. The hand around his neck went to place a finger on his lips.

She was grinning and there was a warm colour across her cheeks. "Maybe he has a point," she said, voice barely above a whisper. Only then did he realize how heavy their breathing was.

"About what?" Sousuke kissed her finger and then mouthed at it lightly.

She hummed appreciatively. "About locking the door. I'd rather we not get interrupted again, you know?"

He did know. Capturing her lips in his suddenly, he rolled them over so the girl lay beneath him. As he pulled apart to stand, she seemed to try and follow him but he put pressure on her shoulders so she couldn't. "Take off your clothes." It was the most direct thing either of them had said that night.

Sousuke went to lock the door. He thought he was moving pretty fast but by the time he turned around, she was zipping up the jacket again but now over a bare body. She gave him a sultry look when she noticed his staring. "Thought you might want to take it off yourself. Like what you see?" she teased. She swayed slowly, showing off how the hem of the black fabric only reached the top of her thighs, leaving plenty to the imagination.

"Very much so," the boy answered honestly as he quickly closed the gap between them again, confirming his suspicions about their height difference.

"Then it's only fair—" She cut herself off to lift Sousuke's shirt over his head and then steal a kiss hungrier than the ones before. Pulling him by the belt still looped around his waist, she pressed them closer together to guide them towards the bed.

She was about to sit on the edge when the taller male forced himself to pull away. "W-wait," he started before groaning because he felt delicate hands trace the ridges of his abdomen. "Will I see you tomorrow? After this."

The girl stopped abruptly, black eyes widened slightly. "Uhm..."

"That sounds like a no."

"I-I don't want to lead you on or anything." She shook her head slowly, looking away.

Sousuke cupped her face in his hands, wanting to laugh but he didn't. "I'm not looking for a relationship either so relax. I just don't want a broken heart on my conscience." He smirked.

She relaxed visibly, her smaller hands going over his, trailing across his muscled arms, then resting on his chest. "Glad we agree," she murmured, finally raising her gaze to look him in the eyes again. "The morning after always ruins a perfect night. And you," she paused to place a kiss on his collarbone, "are perfect right now."

"Not too bad yourself," he replied. As much as he would like to get back in the swing of things, he forced out, "One more thing—how drunk are you?"

This earned a less panicked response and she smiled against the side of his neck. Sousuke wrapped his arms around her waist, helping her to reach higher, to press against him tighter.

"Enough to be emboldened. But not enough to regret it later."

They moved towards the bed again.

"And you?"

"Not even a little."

The girl lay across the mattress and Sousuke took her hands in his, lacing their fingers together so he could stretch her arms out like how he first found her.

"What's your name?"

He kissed the edge of her jaw. "Does it matter?"

"Only if you want to hear me moan it."

The boy groaned low in his throat. _Minx_ , he thought to himself _._ "Sousuke," he told her, figuring that'll make it harder for her to track him down—just in case she was crazier than she seemed.

" _Sousuke_ ," she drawled before giggling. "I'm Akane. It's a pleasure to meet you, Sousuke."

That was twice she had said his name, he noted. He was thankful to finally put a name to her gorgeous face though so he played along as he pressed their foreheads together. "The pleasure's all mine, Akane." His hands moved to her shoulders, tracing over the collar of the jacket he lent.

"I sure hope not."

Sousuke laughed.

_**[[cover](http://ultraimg.com/images/2018/07/22/OIfr.jpg) & [image credit](https://www.zerochan.net/1776833) ]** _


	2. TWO

They were panting shamelessly by the time they finished.

"Holy shit," Sousuke couldn't stop himself from saying.

Akane sighed contentedly, breathing out, "So much for being a gentleman."

They both laughed at that. His gaze turned from the ceiling to the brunette lying on her back next to him, her skin glistening with sweat. She was already looking at him and he doubted he looked any different.

He smirked at her. "The things that came out of your mouth wouldn't exactly make my mother smile either, Akane," he reminded, to which she blushed profusely.

"Yo're lucky you look so good with sex-tousled hair. I would've punched that pretty face of yours."

Sousuke smiled but she didn't see because Akane was looking up at the ceiling now. He watched her steady her breathing for a few seconds before sitting up and shuffling to the side of the bed.

"What are you doing?"

Picking up the discarded pants on the floor, he briefly glanced over his shoulder to see Akane sitting up too. "We agreed this is a one-night thing, remember?"

She half-frowned, half-smiled. "Yes, and it's still the night. It's not the morning after yet, Sousuke, so come back to bed." Her voice was soft, her eyes sincere, and both of these made the boy pause, trying to read between the lines.

Then Akane was crawling over to him in all her naked glory. One arm went over his right shoulder, fingers feather-light against his still warm skin, and a chin rested on his other shoulder. The pressure on the right was careful which Sousuke guessed was her way of being considerate after he had told her it was injured.

"Please?" she purred into his ear. It was all intentional, he could tell and she knew it too. "It's not every day I don't have to rush off. We made a deal so don't worry."

Sousuke could relate to that. Akane had admitted before they got to the real good stuff—she quickly shut up when they did—that she was surprised when he asked if she was going to stick around the next day but she was glad he did. _"Now I know I don't have to hold back. Wouldn't want you falling for me, you know?"_  she had whispered then, going back into seductress mode.

Teasingly, Sousuke repeated that latter part to her now, the part about falling for the other. She hummed. "I promise I won't. One of us will be gone by morning."

The black-haired boy hesitated for another moment before he conceded. "Then let's get under the covers. I’m freezing." When Akane's body heat left him, he moved to lift the blanket and Akane got under it. He followed, lying on his back.

Akane stayed silent as she snuggled up to him, putting her hand on his toned abdomen and tracing the dips and grooves. "God, you're hot," she said breathily.

Sousuke chuckled and finally allowed himself to bask in the afterglow. "You're talkative."

That earned him a light smack on his chest but in return, he only laughed. He felt Akane smile against his shoulder.

*

Akane was the first to wake up after their little cuddle time. She had always been a light sleeper so it was impossible to continue when she felt light stream in from the window, falling across her face. Feeling the glare on her eyelids, she squeezed her eyes shut and buried her face in Sousuke's shoulder. He groaned softly.

Onyx eyes shot open and the girl sat up suddenly.

Oh. Oh yeah.

Her head hurt a little but it was nowhere close to being a hangover. Last night was as clear as Sousuke's face right now which glowed under the growing sunlight. It was dawn outside but the view paled to his handsome features. He could keep up a conversation too, to boot.

The girl huffed lightly as she carefully swung her legs off the side of the bed. "What I would do to not have you ruined," she said to his sleeping form. But Akane knew better than to indulge in that thought. Real life didn't have 'happily ever afters', no happy endings because life won't end until it _did_.

So she slid back into her clothes as quietly as she could, her shirt cold and just shy of dry but it was the best the night air could do for it so she wore it anyway. Sousuke's jacket had been removed by the owner himself and discarded carelessly last night so Akane had to take a minute to find it.

On the floor, at the corner of the bed.

It was a nice little thing—and not at all _little_ , if she recalled correctly, not on her anyway. Feeling cheeky, she found a notebook at the desk in the room and tore a small piece for her to write on. Sliding it into one of the pockets, the girl folded the fabric and neatly put it at another corner of the bed, opposite of Sousuke so he wouldn't accidentally kick it off.

All the while, the sun-kissed boy remained sound asleep. Akane envied him and, at the same time, didn't. This way, she could do the leaving first. How much she hesitated told her plenty about herself.

Today, she didn't hesitate creeping silently to the door. _Unlock, open, step through, lock again from the inside, pull it closed behind her._ Done. Leaving the house also required sneaking past the groggy host—Kijimata, Sousuke had said—and his friend in the kitchen, gulping down water after popping in a few painkillers.

Akane's own friend had convinced her to gatecrash the party so she could... Actually, Akane didn't know _what_ Hatsue wanted to do here. It was one of those no-questions-asked requests which she agreed to in reluctance. Hatsue's cover story was that they needed some stress relief from school anyway.

Well, she was glad about it _now_ but that didn't mean her friend was off the hook yet.

*

Thus, the promise was kept, one of them was gone by the time the other woke up. Sousuke blinked his eyes awake and stretched across an empty bed. As he remembered where he was, memories of the previous night flooded his mind. He smiled.

He got up slowly and stretched again before picking up his clothes. They hadn't been hasty enough to scatter those about the room so it was fairly easy finding them. But where was his jacket?

Slipping his shirt on, he frowned around him. If Akane really was crazier than he thought, he'd— oh. It had been folded and placed at one corner of the bed. He put it on and felt something in one of the pockets. A note.

_'Thanks ;) –Akane'_

Sousuke smirked before putting it back where he found it. He'll throw it away later. He went downstairs, hands in his pockets, and noticed the host in the kitchen—hung-over. "Kijimata-san."

The older boy lifted his face from his hands, carding one hand through his hair before smiling at the other. "Hey, it's Yamazaki. You're still here." He chuckled as they bumped fists.

Kijimata's friend pulled their junior in for a hug. "Did you pass out or get lucky?"

Sousuke only smiled as he pulled away which made the other two laugh.

"Told you that you wouldn't regret it," Kijimata remarked with a grin, in reference to Sousuke's initial reluctance when he had invited him for old times' sake. Kijimata raised a glass of water in a mock-toast before drinking. "Though this really does mean I have to disinfect _every_ room."

They parted with promises to keep in touch, to not be a stranger, to meet up again sometime. All promises, the direct opposite with those he agreed upon with Akane. Not that he minded. One night was enough.

*

One night. That was the point. The only thing that was supposed to remain after a one-night-stand was memories. Awkwardness only came along if you saw the other again by coincidence or if you knew them personally. _Worry_ only came along if it was a secret or a drunken (or sober) mistake.

So why was Akane worried now? It had been weeks since she slept with the too-hot-for-his-own-good stranger. And it had been one week since her period was supposed to start. She didn't really think much of the lateness for the first few days but a whole _week_? She was starting to panic.

She was stressed out over her studies, already! It was hard to concentrate on the lesson when her mind was questioning why she wasn't bleeding yet. The emergency pad in the secret pocket of her backpack remained unused and she was _freaking out_ —

"Akane-chan?"

She let out an undignified squeak at that and her head whipped around to the person who said her name, her braided ponytail swinging with the motion. The green-eyed boy in the desk next to hers looked surprised too before giving a gentle smile. "Are you okay? You were kind of out of it yesterday too."

"N-no, I'm fine." Akane mentally cursed the stutter in her voice. "Did you need something?"

"Yeah... I'm having trouble translating this line here."

Akane leaned sideways in her seat to get a better look at the string of Roman letters across the page. "Oh. That word means..."

 _Today_ , she decided in the back of her mind. If her period didn't start today, she would go to the pharmacy after school and—ugh, she didn't even want to think about it.

And sure enough, after school, she went to go buy the pregnancy tests—five in a packet and so she bought just the one. Expectedly, no one was home when she got there so she could take the tests in peace; no one could walk in on her and she wouldn't have to face anyone after the results.

The first one seemed to take forever, the minutes passing by too slowly, too agonizingly. But when it showed a positive answer, she immediately took another, hoping a newfound patience would yield a more favourable result.

It didn't.

So she spent the rest of the day finishing the rest of the pack too, a constantly refilled glass of water in her hand to rehydrate herself. And soon found herself on the last stick-like test. "Come on, come on, come on," Akane murmured to herself, pressing the now-empty cup against her mouth. She placed it on her lap and picked up the test again after the wait time required had passed.

Negative.

That meant there was hope, right?

She clung to that.

Determined to reassure herself, Akane cleared the bathroom from all evidence of her activities and went out to buy another packet of tests. Thankfully, she didn't bump into anyone she knew neither on the way nor in the pharmacy itself—at least she could hide her purchase in her bag afterwards.

The cashier eyed her though, probably recognizing her from just hours ago, as he rang up the item.

Akane smiled sarcastically. "It's for a friend."

He didn't reply and she didn't care. Stuffing it into her backpack, she tried not to rush home but her pace was faster than usual. By the time she got to the terrace house, so had her little sister from her club meeting—calligraphy, was it? Shamefully, Akane couldn't remember.

"Chigusa," she said dumbly, seeing the girl untying her shoes at the doorstep.

Teal eyes looked back at her black ones. "Hey, neechan. Went somewhere or going?"

The older girl shifted her hold on the straps of her backpack, the packet of pregnancy tests in it suddenly feeling very heavy. "Went. I just took a walk. Welcome home!"

"You too." Too exhausted to question her weird sister further, Chigusa stepped out of her sport shoes and into the house.

Well... these tests would have to wait till tomorrow. The possibility that buying five more was a sign of paranoia and/or desperation occurred to Akane but there was a chance, right? One of the previous five said negative, she wasn't pregnant.

Okay, so the chances of that being right were slim but it was still a _chance_.

She made sure to personally take out the trash that night.

*

The next day, Akane took the tests periodically in hopes that that would change anything. Firstly, one in the morning before she went to school—positive. The second was taken during recess in the girls' toilets ( _“Ugh, I don't feel so good. You guys go ahead without me!”_ she had told her friends) and the result was also positive. It didn't make sense! She had never even puked since having sex with Sousuke. Wasn't morning sickness supposed to be the first sign?

The test taken right after school ended gave her a little bit more hope—negative. The last two were taken at home but presented both results. All five joined the others in the trash which hadn't been removed by the local authorities yet. Any garbage divers would be in for a surprise—not that there had been cases of any in her neighbourhood.

Trash trucks came on Wednesdays in that area which meant the proof of her slip-up will be gone by tomorrow afternoon.

At least until her baby bump shows.

And she didn't even know how to find the father!

"Fuck!" she groaned for probably the tenth time that day, dropping her head onto her study desk before shooting back up at the pain. So much for a perfect one-night-stand. Akane sighed and rested her head in one hand, frowning at the homework she failed to focus on.

Sluggishly, Akane dragged herself out of her room and to her sister's. Without knocking, she opened the door and stepped through to flop herself onto the bed, face first.

Chigusa looked confused as she spun in her seat by her desk. "Uhm, neechan? What are you doing?"

Akane turned her head to one side so she wouldn't suffocate. "I'm stressed out. Help me, imouto," she whined playfully, though truly meaning it.

"Did something happen?"

"No." That was a lie.

"Right, I believe you," Chigusa said sarcastically. Sharp as always. "How can I help?"

The elder paused. "I don't know..."

She was thankful Chigusa didn't try to push the matter. Instead, her sister gave a second of silence before turning back to whatever it was she was interrupted from. Akane heard clicking and typing. Intrigued, she walked over to peek at the laptop over her sister's shoulder. "What are you up to?"

Chigusa shrugged. "I'm sorting out my pictures. It really piled up but I'm already on last year's stuff."  _Tap, delete. Tap, tap, delete. Tap, tap, delete. Control-Z. Tap—_

"Whoa, what's this?"

"Awesome, right? I went to that swimming competition with Gou last year and gosh, were the guys hot there..." She swooned dreamily.

Akane giggled, agreeing wholeheartedly, "I'll say. Two of my classmates are in the swim team, if I'm not mistaken. Maybe I should try being more friendly." Her arm was slapped and she winced before laughing with her sister.

_Tap, tap—_

Her heart stopped. "Wait, wait, wait!"

Chigusa groaned dramatically as the elder girl shoved herself into her space. "Jeez, what now?"

The black-eyed girl didn't answer.

A selfie of Chigusa and her friend Gou, against the backdrop of the rest of the stadium, was displayed on the laptop screen. But more importantly, there in the background, was a group of boys wearing black and white jackets with arrowhead-like patterns down the sides. That was _Sousuke's_ jacket, right?

"Them." Akane pointed to the group, looking between them and her sister. "What school are they from?"

Chigusa peered at the screen, pouting as she tried to remember. "Uhm, I don't remember but I'm pretty sure Gou told me her brother goes there."

"Can you ask her?"

"Can I ask why you want to know?"

"No."

Her pout deepened but she nodded. "Alright. I'll text her and tell you when she replies."

"Thank you!" Akane kissed her cheek sloppily.

Making exaggerated gagging sounds, Chigusa gently but firmly pushed away her sister.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> they'll meet again in the next chapter, promise uwu


	3. THREE

Akane chewed on her bottom lip. What now? Her sister's friend said her brother went to Samezuka Academy. So Akane looked it up, got the address and made her way there as soon as school ended the next day. It was a boarding school so it was likely that Sousuke—if he really went here—was still within the campus.

What Gou didn't mention was the fact that Samezuka Academy was freakin' _huge_. Akane could see that long before she stood in front of the main entrance.

What the hell? How was anyone supposed to find anything without a map—though they probably did have one when they started out here. But even if she did have a map, Akane had no idea where to start. Sousuke's jacket could mean that he was an athlete or jock but even regular students got school jerseys too so—

Her hands reached for the hair on her scalp and she pulled. The brunette groaned exhaustedly, wondering if this had been a good idea after all. Unplanned pregnancies only happened on TV and in newspaper articles, the former usually ending too optimistically and the latter too dramatically.

Akane sighed and un-gripped her brown strands before she could yank them out. In an attempt to calm herself, she undid her hair to fix it and started braiding it over one shoulder. She glared at the sign with the school name—even _that_ was huge.

Stupid Samezuka, stupid Sousuke, stupid—

"Hey!"

The girl halted in the midst of retying the end of her ponytail. She turned her head and breathed a sigh of relief that it wasn't Sousuke—though it occurred to her that she _was_ only here to search for him.

She didn't recognize the person who called out but he was very obviously calling out to her. He had bright auburn hair and an even brighter smile and he was _waving_ enthusiastically to her with the entirety of one arm. His other hand held a soda cup to his face. The few other boys around him either looked amused or embarrassed by him.

But what really caught her eye was the jacket he had on. It looked a lot like the one Sousuke had lent her and as the boy neared, her suspicions were confirmed. Akane finished tying her hair. At least she got the right school.

"Sorry, do I know you?" she asked apologetically, giving a small smile.

Gold eyes blinked at her, not needing to look up or down to meet her own eyes dead on. Then he grinned cheekily. "No, but would you like to?"

It was Akane's turn to pause but she quickly regained her senses and laughed.

"You just looked lost so I thought I'd offer you my assistance. Mikoshiba Momotaro, at your service—I collect stag beetles." He sucked on the straw in his cup, grin widening at her laugh.

She bowed a little, not put off by the trivial new information. "Hanamura Akane."

"How may I help you, Hanamura-san?"

Akane looked like she thought about it for a moment before finally deciding on: "Do you happen to know a Sousuke? I was told he goes here." She fidgeted, hoping she wasn't being cryptic or suspicious.

Mikoshiba quirked an eyebrow. " _Yamazaki_ Sousuke?"

"Yes." Hopefully. She didn't really know.

"We're in the same club!" The boy chuckled at the coincidence. "He's probably at practice already. I'm heading there myself. Come on, I'll lead the way." He nodded his head in one direction.

Akane considered just asking him to tell Sousuke to meet her here, by the gate but that would probably be too weird. So she smiled, nodded her head and followed the ginger into the school. At one point, they parted from the rest of his friends until it was just the two of them going towards one far end of the large building.

The boy held the door open for her. "You should probably talk to the captain about seeing Yamazaki-senpai. He's the scary redhead but—"

"What was that?"

Momotaro, as he told her to call him ( _"Mikoshiba-san is my brother. Plus, I'm pretty sure I'm younger than you."_ ), let out an embarrassing yelp—which Akane sniggered at—and quickly whirled around to see who, Akane assumed, was the same redhead he had been talking about.

"Senpai! I-I was—"

"You're late," the captain interrupted again, glaring tiredly.

The ginger chuckled sheepishly before slinging an arm around Akane. "I bumped into Hanamura-san here. She has a little request so I was just helping her out! I couldn't just leave a pretty girl like her lost now, could I?"

Finally, this captain turned his gaze to the girl. His hair was more maroon than red, maybe the colour of red wine, but his eyes were definitely red and when he trained them on her, Akane swallowed. He was taller than her, adding to the intimidation. But, though her escort sounded nervous, Momotaro didn't seem to be terrified of his captain.

Akane considered herself a pretty good judge of character so she made up her mind that the stranger was fairly harmless. Shrugging off Momotaro's arm, she smiled and held out a hand. "Sorry about that. My name is Hanamura Akane and I'm looking for Sousuke?"

He looked at her hand and back at her. Then he shook her hand. "Matsuoka Rin." He eyed her school uniform. "You're not a scout." But he smiled anyway, showing a hint of sharp teeth and folding his arms across his chest. "Sousuke never mentioned he had a girlfriend."

"I-I'm not that either."

Momotaro chuckled unhelpfully, ignoring the protest. "I thought that too since they're on a first-name basis."

Her face felt hot as she reached for the end of her braid, twirling the strands subconsciously.

"My bad," Matsuoka said with a shrug, not sounding very apologetic at all. That blush of hers probably didn't help her argument. "Are you a friend from his old school then?"

"I'm... an acquaintance." Akane mentally cursed her hesitation. Why was everyone being so nosy anyway?

Matsuoka hummed. He turned to the his junior. "Momo, when Sousuke's done with his lap, tell him he has a visitor. Then go change and start _your_ laps too. You've got a lot to make up for and then some for being late."

The other groaned but nodded and waved Akane goodbye, walking backwards to the pool.

Only then did the large pool really register in the girl's brain.

A huge pool for a huge school, go figure. The one in her own school paled in comparison—and so did the sheer number of swimmers present. Akane wondered if they were _all_ part of the Samezuka Swim Club and it was likely, from what she read about the school. They did pretty well in competitions.

Boys in Speedos, in jammers of all lengths, so many toned bodies in one place... She supposed all sports clubs were like the last but _still_.

Her eyes scanned the room until they fell upon Momotaro who had walked her here. He was helping someone else out of one lane in the pool. The other boy had already removed his swim cap and goggles, shaking the water out of his dark hair with a towel.

He lowered the towel and met Akane's gaze. Her breath got stuck somewhere in her throat. Akane fidgeted again, gripping the straps of her plaid backpack. She knew she was the one who searched for him but that wasn't a face she expected to see again. By the look in Sousuke's eyes, he thought so too.

*

His shoulder hurt. It hurt a lot but Sousuke didn't slow down his strokes. He never gave his all during practices but kept up a steady pace, nevertheless. Rin and the others hadn't caught on to his injury yet and he planned on keeping it that way. So Sousuke swam through the pain, half of his speed due to the fact that he wanted to just finish the lap and rest his shoulder.

Kazuki took note of his time when he reached the end but Momotaro was the one to pull him out of the water, grinning cheekily.

Sousuke took the fresh towel handed to him and started to dry his face and hair. "I think there's something wrong with your face."

"Someone's asking for you," Momotaro sang before the other even finished, letting the comment fly over his head in favour of looking smug. "She's over there, with Rin-senpai."

Frowning, Sousuke looked to where his teammate indicated and internally started. Wasn't that...? No doubt about it. It was hard to forget a face like Akane's, not that he tried. But he definitely didn't think he would see her again a few weeks after they agreed never to.

He would understand if they bumped into each other by coincidence—Iwatobi was a small town—but Momotaro said she _asked_ for him...

Noticing something out the corner of his eye, he looked next to the girl to see Rin beckoning him over to them. Sousuke put the towel around the back of his neck and walked over to the two, trying not to rush. Akane looked as pretty as ever, in her school uniform now. Her long brown hair was braided loosely over her right shoulder.

Once he was within earshot, he saw Rin smile to Akane and say, "I'll leave you to it then, Hanamura. Do me a favour and don't keep him for too long, okay? We've got competitions lined up for us."

The girl smiled too. "Will do. Thank you, Matsuoka-san." She bowed a little.

The team captain gave Sousuke a pat on the shoulder as he walked past, asking Kazuki for Sousuke's time.

Sousuke put a hand behind the girl's back and led her further away from the crowd, nearer to the doors. Some of his teammates had been glancing at her (a girl in an all-boys' school stood out like a sore thumb) and he didn’t want anyone eavesdropping or overhearing them. "I almost didn't recognize you with your clothes on," he quipped softly to mask his nervousness.

Akane gaped at him, pink spreading across her cheeks, before scoffing in amusement. "Nice to know you're a smartass even when you're sober, Sousuke." Her nose didn't crinkle, he noted absentmindedly.

"I told you, I wasn't drunk." He smiled and tried not to feel too self-conscious about the fact that he was still only in his swimsuit, his chest completely bare and still dripping pool water. "What's up?"

The look on her face changed back to the one when they first locked eyes that day. She fidgeted. "Uhm..." Her fingers reached up to fiddle with the end of her braid.

Sousuke stopped smiling too. "What?"

"You have to promise not to freak out."

"Akane, what is it?"

"I'm pregnant."

He blinked.

After a second, Akane's frowned deepened. "Sousuke?" Her voice was soft.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean..." She tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear, looking at the ground with a purpose. "When we had sex, you impregnated me."

"A-are you sure?"

"I'm seventy percent sure."

"Huh?"

Akane huffed, looking increasingly frustrated. "I took ten home pregnancy tests before I even _thought_ of finding you, okay? Seven of the results were positive so—"

"Are you sure it's mine?" he blurted without thinking. Sousuke started to realize how hard his heart was thumping, how hard it was to breathe—and not in the romantic way. He could only imagine what face he was making.

Whatever his expression, the shorter girl didn't like it. "Excuse me?"

"The baby. I'm the father?"

" _Wow._ "

"What?"

Her already dark eyes darkened further. "You really think I sleep around enough to not know whose kid I might be carrying?" Her tone sounded like a warning.

Sousuke felt his eyebrows knit in the middle. "I just wanted to be sure—"

"Yes, Sousuke, I'm sure," she practically hissed.

"But we were careful," he argued back, not sure which one of them he was trying to convince.

"Well, mistakes—" Akane bit her tongue before correcting herself, " _things_ happen. Maybe the condom tore o-or it was expired or something."

Did condoms expire? Running a hand through his hair, the boy struggled to find words. "You're not on the pill?" Even he knew what a douche he sounded like, right now.

"Sex isn't exactly something I do so frequently to think I needed to be on contraception pills."

He frowned at the attitude, at the sudden amount of hostility that replaced annoyance. "This isn't my fault, Akane."

"It's not mine, either!"

"Ssh—"

"Don't _ssh_ me!"

Sousuke felt desperate though he didn't know for what. "Then what do you _want_ , Akane?" he snapped, still trying to keep their voices down.

Something seemed to flash in the eyes that stared back at him but he didn't know what that was either. "I-I don't know!" That was a loud whisper. He tried to put a hand on Akane's shoulder but she slapped it away. "I just thought you were a decent enough person to want to know if Sousuke Junior might join the world."

Words were lost on him after that. He wasn't ready to be a father! They were seniors in high school, for God's sake...

He broke eye contact, unable to hold it, and his eyes searched for anything less intense. The walls, the doors, the swimmers, the pool—

The pool.

He needed water—not for the sudden lump in his throat but Sousuke knew he just _needed_ it. H-he couldn't bear just standing here with Akane right now. He— "I have to go," he finally said. Making good on his word, he started to walk back to the pool.

His left arm was grabbed with a force neither knew Akane had. "Damn it, Sousuke—"

"Akane-chan?"

That was not his voice.

Sousuke looked at the entrance.

There, in all their innocence, stood the Iwatobi Swim Club. All five of them. And Sousuke felt their gazes bore holes into him. Tachibana, probably the one who had said the girl's name, gave a pleasantly surprised smile and waved.

"Ma-Makoto-kun, hey..."

Gou peered at her. "Wait, you're Hana-chan's sister, right?"

Sousuke looked down at the brunette, realizing she had let go of his arm and even stepped away a few paces.

That was a good enough cue for him.

As if they weren't just having a heated conversation, as if they didn't even know each other, Sousuke walked away. Faintly, he could hear idle chatter between Akane's and Tachibana's voices but his ears didn't try to make out what they were saying. He found the first empty lane in the pool, slipped his swim cap and goggles on, and then dove in.

The rush of water in his ears did a much better job at tuning out the world.

*

"What are you doing here?"

That was a hard one. But Akane forced a smile. The trick was to be as vague as possible but, at the same time, convincing, right? Something logical enough for others to fill in the blanks themselves. "Just... I heard someone I used to know goes here so I thought I'd pay him a visit."

The small blonde one looked excited though she was pretty sure they weren't really acquainted. "Oh, who is it? Maybe we know him!" Hazuki, was it? He looked around Akane for her 'friend'.

She already knew Sousuke had ditched her so she wasn't worried about that.

Okay, so maybe Akane _was_ the one to jump away before someone she knew saw them together but... Whatever.

"Nah, I don't think so," she told him with a shrug. Akane started to walk backwards to the door. The natural reaction would probably be to ask them what they were doing at Samezuka too, she supposed, but really, she just wanted to get out of there. "Anyway, I've got to run. See you in class, Makoto-kun, Nanase-kun!"

She left before she heard their replies.


	4. FOUR

Sousuke closed the door to his locker and sighed softly. What now? It wasn't like he could avoid the situation forever.

"So who was that just now, Sou?" Rin closed the locker next to his and leaned his back against it.

Akane didn't even have to be here for her to _be here_.

"Don't worry about it," Sousuke said as plainly as he could, pretending to fiddle with the dial on his locker.

His best friend took a moment to respond. "I wasn't worried until _that_."

"Just forget it, Rin."

"Lover's quarrel?"

He completely ignored Sousuke! Around them, their teammates were starting to leave the locker room, saying their goodbyes and such. Sighing, the taller boy picked up his bag from the floor and turned.

Footsteps trailed behind him. "That's two sighs and counting," Rin pointed out.

Sousuke had to refrain from sighing again. "Stop following me."

"I'm not. We're roommates, remember?"

He clicked his tongue in annoyance. Rin didn't deserve the cold shoulder, Sousuke knew that, but he couldn't bring himself to care right then. Thankfully, the redhead had enough tact to not press the matter any further as they made their way back to their dorm.

But Sousuke _did_ want to talk about it, truthfully. Maybe not to Rin, he wouldn't understand, not really. His life revolved around swimming and... no, just no.

A therapist then? Yeah, like he could afford one of those. He had a physical therapist but this probably wouldn't fit into their job description. Going to a guidance counsellor also sounded like a grand idea if he wanted rumours spreading—or his parents finding out. It didn't seem like a thing that would stay completely between doctor and patient, not when the patient was a high school student facing fatherhood.

It wasn't like he knew any other teenage parents who could relate to him either.

Well, he supposed there was Akane. Was that why she sought him out? It could also be because she was morally obligated to tell him he was going to be a father in nine months. And he was mean to her today too.

"Argh," Sousuke groaned heavily, rolling onto his stomach on the bed.

"You're not masturbating, are you?" came a voice from below.

Sousuke shifted to the edge of the bed and leaned over the railing along its side. His roommate peeked up at him from where he lay on the bottom bunk, arms folded behind his head. Rin grinned. "You're still awake?" Sousuke asked.

"You're a big guy, Sou. It's hard to sleep with your tossing and turning."

It had been a few hours since Sousuke abruptly ended their one-sided conversation and Rin was back to his chatty self.

The black-haired boy breathed an exaggerated sigh of relief. "Phew, that almost sounded wrong, man." Feeling Rin kick the underside of his bed, he smirked. He shifted to lie down properly again, staring up the ceiling. In the dark, it reminded him of when Akane laid next to him during the afterglow. Part of him wished he hadn't but that would be pointless. Impregnation didn't happen through cuddling.

Rin wasn't done yet though. "Thinking about Hanamura?"

"Who?"

The confusion was reflected in the other's voice. "Uhm, that girl earlier?" Of course he meant Akane. Sousuke flinched silently and murmured a soft yes. "You didn't know her name?" He couldn’t tell if Rin meant for him to hear that.

"She's Akane to me." Even Sousuke heard the defensiveness in his too-quick answer.

The redhead hummed, brief and soft. Sousuke knew the wheels were surely turning in the other's head now, if they weren't before.

"Was she the reason you weren't in the dorm that night?"

Sousuke paused. "Yes."

"Let her down gently."

"What do you mean?" Did Rin overhear their conversation?

"I mean, I guess it wasn't just a one-night-stand for her." He had no idea. "It's a case of one-sided feelings, right?"

"Not really," Sousuke blurted. He groaned inwardly at his lack of a filter. But so far, so good... Maybe he _could_ talk his old best friend. He bit his lip in hesitation. "I mean, don't get me wrong, Akane's great—not just, uh, in bed—but..."

A second passed before Rin realized the sentence would stay incomplete. "But what?" he pressed.

"It's complicated, Rin."

"You’re shutting me out again."

"It's _complicated_ ," Sousuke insisted.

He heard the redhead click his tongue. "I get it, man. But you can't just shut out your friends."

"Oh, like what you did after Australia?" he bit back.

But Rin didn't miss a beat. "Yes."

They were both silent for a long time after that. Sousuke felt like he should be the next to say something, maybe apologize for the bitter comment, but the words wouldn't come out. Eventually, his friend let out his own sigh and spoke up.

"Look, I'm not trying to pressure you to do something. You're my best friend, Sou, and you looked really shaken up when you came back to practice. I just don't want you to regret anything."

He regretted sleeping with Akane.

Though, that wasn't really fair because hindsight was 20/20. They weren't drunk enough to not be careful so how could they have known she would get pregnant? And if Sousuke really was becoming a father, this wasn't something he'd be proud to tell his son—or daughter. He sure as hell wouldn't want to hear his parents say he was an accident.

God, he must have sounded like such a jerk to Akane—and now his friend too. The friend he transferred to Samezuka for.

Sousuke rubbed his face with his hands. "So what do I do, Rin?" he muttered, voice slightly muffled through his hands.

The other snorted. "You're telling me jack shit so I don't really know what to say. But this is between you and Hanamura so I suggest you talk to her."

Another second of silence. "I'll sleep on it."

"Go ahead." There was a sound like sheets shuffling.

"Hey, Rin?"

"Yeah?"

"If this swimming thing doesn't pan out, maybe you should consider becoming a love guru of some sort—" He got a kick for that. "Pretty solid advice from someone who hasn't had a girlfriend in forever."

"Good _night_ , asshole."

"Night, Matsuoka-sensei."

Another kick. But Sousuke knew his friend knew he sincerely appreciated the talk they had. Honestly, he really did consider what Rin said as he drifted off to sleep. Before he fully lost consciousness, he even reached a decision.

*

Akane was greeted with a surprise when she reached Iwatobi High School. The laughter and chatter of the friends around her faded into the background as she focused on the tall male standing by the front gates. In his white Samezuka uniform, he really stood out. She gripped her backpack strap tighter, unsure if she wanted Sousuke to notice her or not.

Okay, yeah, she did. But she didn't want to be the one to approach this time.

"Don't look now but tall, dark and handsome is walking this way as we speak," Hatsue said in a loud whisper.

Ripped from her thoughts, Akane looked at the friend clutching her arm. "Huh?" she muttered dumbly. Their group had stopped walking and, subconsciously, she with them.

"Akane, can we talk?"

As quickly as she had looked away, the brunette turned back to Sousuke. He was suddenly much, much closer—any closer and he would be looming over her and pretty much all of her friends. But no, he maintained what could be described as a respectful distance, she'd give him that.

The other girls were whispering questions and comments to her but none of them registered in her head. Not when her eyes had locked with intense cerulean. As unreadable as ever but intense, nonetheless. Thank God Chigusa decided not to walk with her sister today.

So as much as she wanted to huff and turn away bitterly, Akane nodded. She faked a smile to her friends. "You guys go ahead. I'll catch up in a bit."

They took a moment but then did as asked. They shot her looks after they've walked past Sousuke, ranging from concerned to suggestive—Hatsue going so far as to give two thumbs up and a wink.

Wordlessly, the pair walked off to the side, out of the way of other students streaming into the school.

"How did you know I go here?" she asked once they stopped under a tree. Makoto and the others didn't rat her out, right? Like hell Sousuke would have the nerve to ask them anyway. And she didn't have to go to the same school to _know_ them.

"The badge on your blazer yesterday."

"Figured you'd be looking at my chest."

It didn't sound like a joke and they both knew it. Sousuke frowned and it made Akane look away with a sigh. "Sorry. I guess I'm... still upset."

Sousuke put his hands in his pants pockets. "Alright, I deserve that." He kicked a pebble on the ground. "Look, I handled yesterday badly. So could we try that again? Or, at least, not let it end there."

Not to be melodramatic but Akane was pretty sure she saw sincerity in those blue eyes. In any case, she didn't want to go through this alone so who better to share the experience with than the baby daddy himself? Ugh, that was difficult to say even in her head.

"I have to get to class, Sousuke," she said instead but her shoulders were relaxed. Years of perfect attendance wasn't about to go to waste, not on her watch. Black eyes refocused on Sousuke's face. "You do too."

"Aka—"

"Let's meet after school. The docks at the beach, you know it?"

Sousuke stared for a moment before conceding with a nod.

The girl nodded too. "Five in the evening. Don't be late." With that, she gathered all her willpower to put one foot in front of the other.

"Wait—" It was all for nought though because Sousuke grabbed her wrist hurriedly. When she turned around, he let it go. "Do you have a phone?"

"Everyone has a phone."

"Give me your number."

"Why?"

Sousuke clicked his tongue. "Go easy on me, okay? I'm trying here."

She had half a mind to say it was too late—but the other half, the one that was relieved he had changed his mind, won out. Before she could over-think her actions, she pulled a pen out of her breast pocket with one hand while the other took Sousuke's left hand. Then she wrote her number onto his palm.

He squirmed.

Akane looked at him, wondering if that seriously just tickled the big guy. "You're just a pro at anti-climaxes, aren't you?" She recalled his quip after their tussle in the sheets.

A half-smile appeared on Sousuke's face.

When she finished jotting down her digits, she turned towards to the school. But again, she barely got a two metres away before something interrupted her. Her phone buzzed, blaring the too-loud ringtone. Akane quickly answered it, embarrassed by the glances she got. "Hello?"

"Just making sure it works."

Akane turned her head to see the Samezuka student wave at her. Before she could retort, he hung up and started his way back to his own school.

*

"Where the hell are you, Sousuke? Just when I thought you could be a decent human being too. At least pick up your damn phone, you piece of—"

"Gee, don't hold back."

Akane whirled around, squeaking in surprise and almost dropping her phone. She blushed but hid it with a glare directed to the boy who had sneaked up on her. "I told you not to be late."

"I took off from practice as soon as I could, Akane," Sousuke argued calmly, setting his backpack down and sitting cross-legged on the wooden dock.

"You're panting," she pointed out before joining him. She carefully tucked her legs under her so one could not see under her skirt.

Sousuke scratched the back of his neck, leaning on his other arm. "Yeah, I ran over here in a failed attempt to be on time."

"Oh." She looked away.

After a second of quiet, Akane moved to sit next to Sousuke and they faced the end of the pier together. The view was mostly blocked by fishing boats so only a gap in between two of the vessels allowed him to see the horizon. But Akane sat two feet away from him so he doubted she could see it properly.

When Sousuke looked at her though, the brunette was staring at her hands on her lap. He pulled a bottle of water from his bag and started to chug down the contents.

"So have you thought of any names?"

Water went down the wrong pipe. Sousuke sputtered and then coughed, the only silver lining being he didn't spray water all over Akane. The girl herself looked embarrassed as he regained his breath.

Sousuke wanted to say, _"What?"_ but the girl beat him to it, clearing her throat. "Sorry... I wasn't sure how to start that conversation."

"Yeah, uhm, Akane..." His hand went from rubbing his throat to scratching the back of his neck. He was nervous too. "Have you talked about it with anyone else?"

Akane shook her head, finally looking at the boy. "Nope, just you. I didn't know anyone else who would understand, you know?" She shrugged with a half smile that didn’t reach her obsidian eyes.

"I felt the same."

"You haven't told anyone either?"

"No, but Rin," Sousuke paused to laugh a little, shaking his head at himself, "I think he knows there's _something_ going on." He touched the tiny gaps between the floorboards.

"Rin?"

He looked back at her. "Matsuoka. The redhead you were talking with, yesterday."

"Ah. You guys are close?" She smiled, properly now.

"Kind of. We're old friends."

"Like us?"

Sousuke laughed. "No, not like us."

"Ah." Akane giggled before looking serious again. "Any girlfriends I should be worried about though?"

"No, you're good."

"Good. I mean, not 'good' as in—"

"I got it, Akane." He smiled at her and was happy to see her return it. "What about you?"

"Girlfriends? No." Sousuke snorted. "No boyfriends, either. I don't really do relationships."

They both fell silent at that until Sousuke decided to bring them back on track. "So, uh, yeah, I won't tell anyone about what's happening until you're comfortable enough." He nodded slowly to himself before turning to Akane.

She looked mildly surprised though he didn't know what for. Then her cheeks flushed a shade darker and she turned her face to the setting sun.

Sousuke smirked. "Careful. You promised you wouldn't fall for me."

Akane indignantly stuck her tongue out at him. "I also promised we won't see each after—"

"Actually, you promised one of us would be gone by morning. You did good on that one." He kept smiling to show there were no hard feelings. After all, that was what they both wanted and agreed on.

Onyx eyes rolled but the girl was smiling too. "Alright, elephant-brain... What did you want to talk about?"

"What do you mean?"

Something about the expression on her face made Sousuke think she was hiding nervousness. Or maybe it was how she was fingering her ponytail again. "Come on. I doubt you wanted to meet me so you could make nice." Her tone was tentative.

"It could be that. You're carrying my baby, Akane."

The brunette flinched slightly but otherwise, didn't miss a beat. "If that were the case, you'd have apologized for yesterday by now and-or made one of those dramatic speeches in romance movies."

She shrugged, seemingly playful. But Sousuke wasn't sure if she actually wanted what she said.

He looked her in the eye seriously. "Sorry—for how I reacted yesterday and for how long it took to say it."

"Thank you."

"And you're right. There is something I want to say."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I think we should see a doctor."

Akane furrowed her eyebrows for a moment before her eyes widened in panic. "S-Sousuke, I wasn't trying to force you to be a part of the baby's life—" It was his turn to be confused but Akane didn't notice. "—I'm willing to do this by myself but I'm not going to give this child up. I know we're still students and we didn't mean for this b-but I really thought about this and—"

The boy grabbed her arm to shut her up. "I'm not asking you to get an abortion, damn it!" he said, loud enough to be heard over the all that rambling.

The look in Akane's eyes... God, that made a lump appear in his throat. She had looked so hurt and panic-stricken. He had never seen her so unsettled. It made him wonder if this constant composure she had going on was an act. She was actually pretty emotional, wasn't she? Not that Sousuke would point that out right then.

He felt his features soften. "Akane, is that what you thought I had been meaning to say?" His voice was soft too.

Her whole body shook as she exhaled steadily. "I don't know... It's not like we really know each other."

Sousuke rubbed her arms gently and hopefully, comfortingly. "Personal thoughts on abortion aside, I really want to help raise this kid—if you want me to. Or even if you don't. I mean, I can't imagine my own life if I only had one parent so—"

"I want you to," she said determinedly, her right hand clutching his suddenly.

They held each other's gaze for a few seconds, probably trying to figure out how sincere the other was. And then Sousuke nodded. "Okay."

Akane nodded too, slowly releasing her grip. Still, the blue-eyed boy waited to feel her shoulders relax before retreating his hands to his sides. He gave her another few seconds to calm herself down and then continued his line of thought.

"I suggested a doctor because... well, I think they could give better advice than a guidance counsellor or whatever. And I read online that that's something we should do after taking the home pregnancy tests—especially if the results are mixed."

"You... you read up?"

Sousuke nodded.  "I couldn't sleep." Rin was pretty much knocked out by then but Sousuke didn't even plug in his earphones in case his roommate woke up and he didn't hear it. Looking up pregnancy advice is bound to make Rin even more concerned. "Anyway, most sites agree—they say it's the only way to be sure."

The brunette combed the end of her ponytail. "Okay. Let's go see a doctor. The clinic?"

"Yeah. I have some numbers my therapist gave me in case my shoulder spontaneously acts up so I can call those up and make an appointment for us. Unless, uhm, you'd rather go alone?"

"I told you. I want you around, Sousuke." Akane wouldn't look at him as she said this.

That was okay. The boy thought he finally truly understood how shaken up she was by this. "I'll... text you the date and time tonight. Any preferences?"

"As soon as possible. I'm free, the rest of this week—excluding school in the mornings."

"Okay."

Akane inhaled deeply. "Okay." She hopped to her feet and placed her hands on her hips. Back to her usual self, she grinned down at Sousuke. "I should start walking home now. See you when I see you?"

The boy ignored her question. "It's still early. Your house isn't _that_ far, is it?" He didn't know why he was asking. Their matter was pretty much dealt with for now.

"It's not _far_ but—"

"I'll walk you." Leaving no room for discussion, Sousuke stood too and gestured for the other to start walking. After peering at him for a long moment, Akane conceded and led the way. He cleared his throat. "You were saying?"

"Oh. I have to make dinner so the earlier, the better, you know?"

"You cook for your family?"

"Yeah, I'm the only one who's home to make something in time for dinner. My little sister is pretty active in school and my parents usually work long hours."

"Sounds a little lonely." The roads were unfamiliar but the boy made sure to be walking on the outside of the lane.

Akane shrugged. "I manage."


	5. FIVE

The rest of the walk mostly went the same way. Not talking about the pregnancy made the conversation light, words coming easily like they did when the pair first met. And before he knew it, the girl had stopped walking and said, "Well, this is me." Akane gestured to the two-storey terrace house next to them.

Sousuke looked at it and then at the number on the plaque on the gate. Then his gaze turned to the house itself again, trying to engrave it in his memory in case he needed to find it again.

The sound of the gate creaking returned him to reality.

"See you, Akane," he remembered to say, lifting a hand in a wave.

Akane was closing the gate but spared a moment to smile and reply. "Bye, Sousuke. Pick up your phone next time, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. I keep forgetting to take it off silent mode." The dark-haired boy chuckled and started walking backwards, down the way they came. "I'll text you tonight about the doctor's appointment."

"Don't keep me waiting," Akane quipped, only half joking.

*

_'Sugita Clinic, tomorrow at 5:00 PM. Is that okay?'_

Before he could put it down, the phone vibrated again. Sousuke looked at the message through the pop-up notification and scoffed amusedly.

 _'Yeah, that's fine. Don't be late!!'_ Akane had replied, adding an angry-looking emoji at the end for good measure.

Sousuke quickly started on a retort—something smart so she'd have no choice but to object.

Footsteps sounded and his roommate appeared in the bathroom doorway, leaning against the frame. He had a toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste in his hands. "What are you giggling at?"

Lying in his top bunk, Sousuke glanced at Rin out the corner of his eye. "I wasn't giggling," he protested blandly, thumbs still typing away.

"Yeah?" Rin squirted the minty substance from the almost flattened tube onto the toothbrush bristles while he disappeared into the bathroom. Then he returned to lean on the metal ladder of their bunk beds. "So everything's good with Hanamura then?"

The other boy nodded silently. His phone, buzzing every time he tapped the screen, made the only sounds from him.

"Feel like telling me about it yet?"

Sousuke grunted.

"Since we're sharing, I think I might shave my head before the next race."

"What?"

"Really, _that's_ what you react to?" Rin laughed before walking away, sticking the toothbrush into his mouth.

Sousuke finally put down his phone and sat up. He leaned his back against the wall. "Hey, Rin?" A muffled acknowledgement sounded from the depths of their shared bathroom. "I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow so I need to be excused from practice." He hated how formal he sounded.

A head of maroon hair poked out through the doorway, concern etched on the face. "You okayh?" Rin said through the mouthful of foamy toothpaste. He looked like a rabid bunny and it made Sousuke laugh.

"Yeah, I'm... mostly fine. I just have to get something checked out."

Rin squinted his red eyes at the taller male. Then he went to the sink, rinsed out his mouth, and walked over to his friend. "We're back to being cryptic, I see," he muttered with a frown. But then he sighed, carding a hand through his maroon hair. "But okay. I trust you have your reasons."

"Thanks, man."

They bumped fists and Sousuke lay back down on his bed.

"I hope you missing practice isn't going to become a regular thing?" Rin said, giving a swift kick to the bunk above him. But it lacked force, lacked the playfulness that usually accompanied it.

"It won't," Sousuke promised, then thought better of it. "You'll get a better explanation, if it does."

After a second, the redhead murmured an agreement.

*

There was no need to skip out on practice completely, he supposed. But if Sousuke wanted to be at the clinic on time, he had to take into account travel time—which he was cutting down on by taking a cab—and time for a shower after school so he could change into casual attire.

Akane had told him last night not to wear his school uniform. A couple of high school-ers meeting a doctor together? Yeah, that wasn't something she wanted anyone filling the blanks about—especially if they would probably be right.

So the boy figured missing the whole practice was better than asking to leave in the middle of it. Instead of heading to the pool after classes ended like he usually did, he returned to his room. He showered, got changed, and by the time he hailed a taxi, it was half past four in the evening. The lack of traffic meant he got to the clinic with ten minutes to spare.

Sousuke saw a familiar brunette walk up to the clear doors, just as he exited the vehicle. Aside from the night of the party, he had never seen Akane in anything other than the Iwatobi school uniform. She wore black pants this time, the slim fit contrasting her oversized sweater, but her long hair was in that familiar braid again.

Not rushing, but Sousuke did take long strides to appear behind Akane in time to open the doors for her.

The other jumped at his sudden presence and then hit his arm. "You almost gave me a heart attack, asshole," she scolded, stepping through the doorway.

"Are you going to blame all your medical conditions on me?"

 Akane cringed visibly but smiled. "Too soon."

She started walking towards the waiting area but Sousuke grabbed her hand to lead her to the reception counter. The nurse looked up and greeted them.

"Hello, uhm... I made an appointment for five o’clock with a," he looked at the illuminated phone screen in his free hand, "Doctor Ishikawa?"

As the nurse pulled open a large book and skimmed through the pages, Sousuke felt Akane squeeze up next to him. When Sousuke looked at her, she was leaning over the counter to peek over it—like some kid. Her hand was holding his more comfortably now and he wondered if she was aware of that.

He turned back to the nurse as she spoke. "You're Yamazaki Sousuke?" she asked with a polite smile. He nodded, then she nodded and gestured to the waiting area. "Have a seat and we'll call for you when she's ready."

Sousuke nodded again and did as asked, the brunette following behind him. Her silence ended as soon as they sat down, letting go of his hand suddenly. "Was it hard getting an appointment?" They both eyed the number of other people in the space with them. Ranging from old folks to kids with their parents, there were quite a few of them for a small clinic. Good thing this place was out of Akane's neighbourhood—something Sousuke had put into thought.

But the boy shook his head. "Not too bad. But requesting a female doctor narrowed the scope. I figured you'd be more comfortable since it’s your body."

"Oh," Akane said, just like she always did when he did something considerate. A pattern was showing itself and it reminded Sousuke of her other habit, the one where her nose crinkled when she laughed. He hadn't seen that in a while.

"You say that almost every time I do something nice," the taller male told her, deciding not to point out the latter part of his thoughts. "Is it that hard to believe?" He didn't sound hurt.

Akane sighed, slumping in her chair. "No, it's just... I guess I heard one too many scare stories about teen pregnancies."

"I told you, I won't make you do anything you don't want to."

"I know, I know." She shrugged. "I just never had good relationships with guys."

"You don't have _any_ relationships with guys," Sousuke remarked with a light smile, nudging her shoulder with his before leaning back to relax in his own chair. "Not your thing, right?"

"Right." She smiled but didn’t laugh like he thought—hoped—she would.

One brief pause later, Sousuke asked: "Do you want me to go in with you? The appointment's under my name but I could tell them..." He drifted off, noticing how Akane was shaking her head.

"Go in with me. I'll, uhm, I want to tell the doc about it in my own time but... I want you there too—please?"

The last word came out like an afterthought, as if Akane didn't realize she should ask him if he minded. And really, she didn't have to. But the boy nodded in answer anyway. He opened his mouth but another voice sounded.

The nurse was calling for him. Sousuke and Akane stood and walked over. When they got within a few feet of the counter, the nurse leaned out of her seat to point to a door across the room. "Just walk on in," she told them without standing or any further guidance.

Clinics were a lot more relaxed than hospitals, weren't they?

The pair did just that, Sousuke knocking twice before opening the door. "Doctor Ishikawa?"

A woman was sitting at the desk in the smaller-than-expected room. To be honest, Sousuke had thought they would be led straight to an examination room or something. Then again, he did say the nature of his visit was for consultation. The doctor looked up with a warm smile, nodding once.

"Good evening. You must be Yamazaki. Who's this lady with you?"

The girl addressed bowed. "Hanamura Akane, ma'am."

Doctor Ishikawa gestured to the two plush-y chairs in front of her desk. "The nurse said you had some medical questions and specifically requested a female doctor. What can I do you for, Yamazaki-san?" Her smile was constant.

It was comforting, really, especially in an uncomfortable position—she'd be the first person to know of their situation—but Sousuke still felt somewhat awkward at the suffix used for his name. Most adults used '-kun' when talking to him but that group pretty much consisted of teachers and his physical therapists so he knew them personally.

So '-san' was fine, he supposed.

He looked at Akane next to him and she looked at him, nervousness in her eyes. He wanted to squeeze her hand in reassurance but also didn't want to overwhelm her. They sat down.

Akane turned her eyes to the doctor. "You see, uh..." She cleared her throat and started again. "I'm pregnant—for the first time." She let out a nervous laugh that sounded joyless.

"Congratulations," Ishikawa said anyway, and then more tentatively, "Are you two married?"

"We're not," Sousuke blurted.

"Ah. How long have you been together?"

"We're not..." Akane said too, unable to finish the sentence.

The doctor's smile changed from bright to warm, almost sympathetic, if Sousuke didn't know any better. He might also be a little defensive. But she was a doctor and he doubted this was her first case of unplanned pregnancy. She nodded slowly. "You two look quite young. Still in high school?"

The younger girl nodded. "Senior year."

"I see." Ishikawa was still nodding as she clasped her hands together on the desk. "Well, are you aware of your options?"

"Kind of—well, baby-wise," she paused to glance at Sousuke briefly, "we plan to keep i—the baby." Probably not nice to call a baby 'it'. Miracle of childbirth and all...

The dark-haired boy nodded to show his support, not wanting to pressure Akane into anything.

Akane quivering hands reached for the end of her ponytail—brown hair in that usual braid, he noted again. He briefly wondered why she didn't wear it that way at the party. Or maybe she did but took it apart when she washed her shirt after that guy spilled bad punch on her.

Anyway, Akane's nervous habit of fiddling with her locks showed itself as she started on the next part. "Actually, before we start looking at brochures and teen-parent workshops—" The pace of her words were quick. "—we wanted to do more conclusive tests."

She sounded unsure of her words so Sousuke thought he should cut in. "The home pregnancy test results were mixed," he explained, detecting a nervousness he didn't realize he felt until then. Honestly, the two of them were as on edge as possible. Now that they've started explaining—hard as it was, it was like they couldn't stop.

"Seven positive, three negative."

"Yeah, not a big margin but we want to be really sure before we do anything else. The only other symptom I've had is an overdue period."

The doctor's forehead creased in concentration before she pulled up a calendar and the two women started to discuss the exact dates of Akane's menstrual cycle and the day she had sex with Sousuke. There was talk about something like safe days and other reasons for a late period—stuff the boy didn't understand, save for the parts he learned in Biology.

Ishikawa also explained a little about how the home pregnancy tests worked, how it could show wrong results though uncommon. Sousuke noted how she carefully avoided leaning in either direction but it was definitely better than succumbing to one possibility.

At the end of it, she told them, "The soonest you can find out for sure is Sunday morning."

"Why?" they both asked too quickly.

Leaning back, Ishikawa clasped and unclasped her hands. Now Sousuke was sure she appeared sympathetic. "Hanamura can take a blood test right now and it will still take at least twenty-four hours for the results to come in. Tomorrow—Saturday—the clinic closes early. Sunday morning is the soonest I can get the results," she said again, more firmly.

She looked them in the eye, Akane first and then Sousuke.  Then the non-couple exchanged glances. Her black eyes looked vulnerable but... determined, if that made any sense. Like she was conceding. They hadn't known each other long enough for Sousuke to tell for sure. So far, Akane had been an array of emotions. Not that he was any more readable, he knew.

But they both agreed to the doctor's suggestion.

*

As soon as they were outside though, Sousuke didn't know what to do next. The doctor extracted a blood sample from Akane and they gave Ishikawa their numbers for her to contact them when she got the results and that was it. All they could do was wait—and _"Don't make any hasty decisions,"_ as Ishikawa had told them.

The pair stood there, near the entrance, after she walked them out. Neither moved to leave—neither moved at all.

"What are you thinking?" the brunette asked as if she could sense the unease. She looked at him with an odd calm—not necessarily as if she had given up, that would be unlike her, but as if she had given in.

"I'm sorry we have to wait some more," Sousuke ended up saying. He had really hoped they could resolve this in one meeting, thinking the test would take not more than a few hours. Then again, in a few hours, it'll be late evening today.

But Akane smiled and it didn't look forced. "You don't have to apologize. Sousuke, before yesterday, I was ready to surrender to nine months of pregnancy. Now I'm a little hopeful." Then she panicked suddenly. "N-not that I'm saying this kid is going to ruin my life or anything!"

That, despite everything, made the boy laugh. "You're really at odds with this, aren't you?"

"Aren't _you_?" she shot back but not harshly. She rubbed her warm cheeks. "I mean, don't get me wrong. Babies are cute and all but I didn't plan on having any before I graduate high school."

"Actually, it's less than nine months from graduation so you're good," he pointed out.

His arm was punched but the girl laughed. "You know what I mean."

Yes, he did. And her nose had crinkled too so he smiled.

"So what now?"

Akane shrugged, looked at her watch and then cursed. "I have to go."

Frowning, Sousuke pulled his phone out and clicked to turn on the screen. "This is earlier than last time. What's the rush, Cinderella?"

"I have to get some stuff for dinner. We're out of a lot of things," she said with a smile. But she still made no move to leave just yet. "What are _you_ going to do?"

"Nothing. I guess I'll just head back to Samezuka."

"That sounds boring."

"Entertain me then?"

"How?" Akane snorted.

The other thought about it. "I'll go with you to the store. That's where you're headed, right?"

She stared at him. A—dare he say—giddy smile played at her pink lips. "Careful. You're not falling for me, are you?" she teased and Sousuke didn't know whether she meant it or not.

So he smirked down at her. "There's nothing to fall for," he replied easily.

"Good." The girl hummed and took one step toward him. "Let's go, then. I could use someone to reach the top shelves."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please do let me know what you guys think so far <3


	6. SIX

Akane didn't just use him as an extension to reach high shelves. Somehow, the boy found himself carrying all the purchase to her home too. Granted, they hadn't bought that much but it surely was enough to be able to be shared between them.

"I didn't think I'd have to carry a girl's shopping when I'm single,” Sousuke said, though he was anything but angry. He was only holding two plastic bags in one hand and hugging a paper bag to his chest with the other. The walk to the Hanamura home wasn't that far either.

The brunette smacked his arm lightly—she wouldn't want him dropping everything she paid for now, did she? "Oh, stop complaining. Those muscles are barely straining." Sighing dreamily, she emphasizes her point by squeezing the biceps of his left arm, the one with the paper bag.

Sousuke snorted but didn't say anything. He knew he shouldn't feel the warmth of her hands linger long after she had removed them. They were walking on the sidewalk, between a row of houses and what was most probably the residents' cars parked along the road.

He tore his blue eyes away from Akane's figure skipping in front of him, her loose braid swinging behind her, and focused on the buildings instead. "Akane. What are you going to make anyway?"

"Beef stew."

Remembering the ingredients they bought, Sousuke frowned and looked at the item at the top of the paper bag. "With chocolate?" He'd heard of it being used in some curries but _stew_?

The girl whirled around suddenly and snatched the chocolate bar he had been referring to. "Oh, that's for me! I almost forgot about it." She had stopped abruptly so Sousuke was forced to do the same. The sidewalk wasn't all that wide for him to sidestep her. He watched her peel the candy wrapper carefully, with the tips of her fingers.

Breaking off a corner, Akane held it up in front of the other's mouth. "You've been a good boy today, Sousuke, so I'll give you a treat," she crooned.

Just what did she think he was? Sousuke made an unimpressed face but opened his mouth for her to feed him. She blushed when she did—that was her own fault anyway since she was the reason both his hands were occupied. That said, he didn't mean for his lips to brush against her fingertips when she put the chocolate piece in his mouth. _That_ was not on purpose.

"Sorr—" The words died in his throat when he saw the girl lick her forefinger clean.

Akane only noticed his staring when she started on her thumb. "What?" she asked, muffled through the finger between her lips.

Sousuke gave her a look, one eyebrow arched slightly, but it said enough.

Her cheeks flushed deeper and she yanked the finger out of her mouth but, to her credit, she managed to smirk up at him. "At least you don't taste like that horrid punch this time." She turned her back to him and resumed walking.

Just roll with it, he decided. "You tasted like it too."

Akane laughed, the bridge of her nose wrinkling a bit, before taking a bite of the chocolate bar. She shook her head at herself. "What the hell did they put in it anyway?"

"You had more than I did, you tell me."

"Right, because I have the pallet of Gordan Ramsay."

"I just hope your stew tastes better."

Akane hit his arm again, indignantly this time. "It will!" she insisted, pink lips pouting slightly.

"I don't know if I trust you."

"Oh yeah?" By then, they had reached her house and the brunette grinned over her shoulder as she opened the gate. "Prepare to eat your words, Yamazaki Sousuke."

He snorted at that. Should he ask if this was an invitation to come inside? Sousuke decided against it, following her through the gate when she held it open expectantly. "I have to help you cook too? You're absolutely hopeless without me, aren't you?"

"Oh, how did I ever survive?" Akane drawled dramatically as she peeled her sandals off, laughing because she had to brace one hand on his arm to keep balance.

The taller male let her. When she finished, he toed off his own shoes and followed her onto the patio. Her keys jingled as she unlocked the front door. Akane held that open for him too before closing it behind him.

The entryway led straight to the living room where Sousuke put one foot in and stopped. He looked around. At first glance, the area looked... messy. But upon closer inspection, he appreciated how unsymmetrical the arrangement of cushions was on the floor around the chabudai in the middle.

Dimming sunlight streamed from the window that faces the street, from between floral curtains parted down the middle and tied into a knot to keep in place. There was a bean bag by the window, a book in the indentation from when someone sat in it.

And... the pictures. There were a ton of those. One cabinet had a row of framed pictures on top of it. Sousuke made a mental note to get a better look later.

For now, he made his way to the half-played chess game on the chabudai. He put the plastic bags on the short table to pick up a chess piece.

His hand barely grazed it when he heard Akane shriek. "Don't touch that!"

Straightening his back, the boy quirked an eyebrow at her.

Akane had just taken off her sweater, revealing the yellow t-shirt underneath it, and threw it onto the beanbag carelessly so she could rush over to the chessboard. Her black eyes scanned it for a second before she breathed a sigh of relief and grinned at her confused guest.

"My dad and I have been playing this for three days now. I think I'm going to win this one pretty soon so..." She wagged a finger at him in warning. "No touching."

Sousuke suppressed an amused smile but he knew it showed.

Rolling her black eyes at his expression, Akane pushed on his back to guide him to the kitchen at the end of the house. It was quite large but since it was also the dining area—as evidenced by the large table situated in the middle—he supposed it was fairly sized. She shoved him lightly to the table.

"Sit."

"Woof."

That earned him a brief glare. As the brunette picked up an apron, Sousuke started to take the items they bought out of the bags. Hearing a huff, he looked up. Akane was blowing her hair out of her eyes as she struggled to tie the apron strings behind her back.

Sousuke exaggerated a sigh, stood and went over to help, taking the strings from her hands and tying it easily. "Seriously, I worry about you sometimes."

Akane laughed, stepping away from him and turning. "Yeah, yeah, we'll see how useful _you_ are in the kitchen," she remarked.

"I'm at your service, Akane-sama." The boy bowed. When he straightened, an onion was thrust into his hand.

*

Cooking was her element, it seemed. Akane moved about the kitchen with ease, grabbing this and that and whatever from the cupboards without hesitation. Granted, this was her kitchen so it made sense she was familiar with where everything was but...

Sousuke didn't know.

Maybe it was how she never bothered to look at a recipe. Or how she smiled the whole time, as if she was enjoying herself—which contradicted yesterday's blank face when she talked about cooking for her family. Maybe it was how she hummed softly to herself, like she did it unconsciously, whenever they weren't chatting.

Akane zoned out when they didn't talk. She didn't even notice that Sousuke was staring—something _he_ realized quickly. At first, he felt embarrassed for doing so but since he wasn't found out, he kept going back to watching her.

The chores she gave him were long past done and he'd been sitting by the table in silence for a while now. Well, 'silence' excluded Akane's humming. He couldn't tell what the tune was—he had it narrowed down to nursery rhymes though—but the girl was moving lightly to it.

She leaned forward a little to inhale the steam wafting from the pot on the stove. Her smile widened just the slightest bit as she leaned back, raising a hand to wipe the back of it across her forehead. Akane tapped the ladle in her other hand on the rim of the pot so the piece of celery Sousuke had cut would fall back into the stew.

Then black eyes met his blue ones.

"There's a hungry look on your face. Should I be worried?" she asked jokingly, a smirk playing on her pink lips.

Sousuke leaned back in his chair, grunting once. Two could play it at that game. "You're taking too long, Akane. My presence isn't distracting you, is it?"

The other turned back to the pot, stirring slowly again with the wooden ladle. "It's almost ready."

"You said that last time."

" _Last time_ was two minutes ago, Sousuke."

"How long is 'almost' in minutes then, Akane?"

"How about you give this a taste and tell me?" There was an incredulous look on her face. She picked up a clean spoon and held it out to him.

The boy stood and took it from her. Five seconds into dipping the spoon through the surface of the stew and Akane was stopping him.

"Don't take it like that!"

Sousuke rolled his eyes. She did this when she made him cut up the ingredients too, being pretty particular about how it should be done. The minx was also a controlling perfectionist, he learned. "How am I _supposed_ to take it then?"

"You have to stir it a bit so you're not just taking the oily layer— Forget it. I'll do it for you." He let Akane grab the spoon from his hand. With it, she stirred lightly before scooping up a spoonful of the broth. "Here." She held it up to his face like she did with the chocolate.

There was still a lot of steam rising from the spoonful so Sousuke carefully wrapped a hand around Akane's wrist to hold it steady and blew on the soup softly. Then he took it into his mouth. Letting her hand go, he _hmm_ -ed thoughtfully at the flavour on his tongue.

Akane peered at him. "How is it?"

"Tastes great."

"You're not just saying that so we could start eating, right?"

"Maybe."

Akane hit his arm again, laughing. She took another spoon to get a taste herself. Her mouth made a couple of smacking noises before she nodded firmly. "Okay, it's ready." She turned off the fire and the bubbles in the stew slowly died.

Sousuke leaned against the counter, arms folding across his chest. "So do I get to reap the rewards too?"

He got no answer but Akane reached over his head to open a cupboard. The close proximity was purposeful but what purpose it served was lost on him. It almost felt like flirting—especially with the way she kept her eyes locked with his—but after everything they went through, it could just be playful. The boy wasn't sure which he hoped for.

Akane took out a thermos and stepped away. She spun the cap open as she walked back to the pot. "You got a roommate at the boarding school of yours?"

"No, everyone gets a deluxe suite all to themselves."

"Oh, forgive me for not knowing how things work in place I've never been to." She stuck her tongue out at him which made Sousuke laugh.

"I share a dorm with Rin."

"Yer ol' friend Rin?"

"Yeah."

Akane nodded, humming briefly, and pointed to the cupboard again. "There's a larger thermos in there."

"You don't have to." But Sousuke was already opening the cupboard doors.

"I want to." The brunette giggled, shoulders shaking lightly and more importantly—nose crinkling. "I'm pretty sure he's the brother of my sister's friend. Small world, huh?"

"You know Gou?"

Akane nodded, onyx eyes widening in mild surprise. "You do too?"

He nodded as well, murmuring, "Small world. We all went to the same school until Rin transferred."

"To Iwatobi?"

"Australia. Well—yeah, actually, to Iwatobi too. He transferred twice. Three, if you count him coming back here."

Blinking, Akane looked both surprised and intrigued. "Okay, one day, you _have_ to tell me the story of how that worked." Shaking her head, she let out something that sounded like a scoff and a laugh at the same time.

They swapped places—Akane so she could return the smaller thermos to its place and Sousuke to the stove so he could fill up the larger one. Placing the stainless steel container on the counter, he stuck the ladle into the soup and heard Akane wince next to him. He groaned. "What now?"

"You're doing it wrong."

"Of course, I am."

"Huh?"

"You're a perfectionist." Akane snorted and Sousuke scoffed. "I'm serious! You literally picked on everything I did today."

The shorter girl put her hands on her hips, shrugging with one shoulder. "It's not my fault you can't do shit, Sousuke," she said coolly.

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Sousuke leaned in a little. "In your eyes, the only thing I can do is you."

With that, he watched Akane's cheeks catch fire, redness tinting them before rapidly spreading all the way to her ears. "D-don't get ahead of yourself, you weren't that great." The stammer betrayed her.

"That's not what you said that night."

"I was in the heat of the moment."

"Okay, so I wasn't _so good, oh_ —"

"Aah! Stop, stop, stop, stop, _stop_!" Akane almost shrieked and waved her hands between them before clamping them over the other's mouth, as if she could physically prevent his words from coming out—or, to be frank, _her_ words. Giggles continued to spill from her lips though, the edges of her eyes crinkling along with her nose. "Your memory is _way_ too sharp for its own good. And you talk about these things too casually, you pervert."

Sousuke easily wrapped his fingers around both of her wrists to pull her hands down. "Says the pervert giggling about it," he pointed out with a playful smirk.

When he let go of her hands, Akane folded them across her mouth as she made a valiant attempt to suppress her laughter. It took a while before she finally lifted her head to shake it at Sousuke. He smiled down at her fondly.

She held out her hand. "Come on, give me the ladle."

Blue eyes rolled so dramatically he thought they might fall out of their sockets. "No dice, Akane," Sousuke told her firmly, raising the wooden utensil far out of her grasp, like she was a child.

Cursing, the girl reached for it only for him to move it again. "Sousuke, you're going to do it wrong," she whined— _just_ like a child, he thought humourously.

"Damn it, would you please let me have my soup in peace!" he snapped in exasperation. But the boy let out an embarrassing yelp when the other attempted to climb onto him. He pushed her away by her shoulder, carefully but firmly.

Akane huffed. "You're probably going to avoid all the vegetables—"

"Just what do you think I am?"

Her struggle faltered when she laughed again. But then she played dirty by running her fingers up his sides. He squirmed, inhaled sharply, and quickly pushed her away again, this time keeping her there at arm's length. "No."

She paused. "Oh my God." Then her face twitched. "You're ticklish." Then, if anything, Akane laughed harder, arms clutching her sides and the edges of her eyes wrinkling. Despite the situation, Sousuke found the familiar action endearing. He didn't need to hold her back anymore but he still kept his arm up, just in case. But he felt like laughing too. When did they get so comfortable around each other again?

Just when Sousuke was about to tell her to shut up—nicely, because he didn't really want her to—the rest of the Hanamura family walked in.

"Oneechan?" That and the fact that the girl who said that looked younger told Sousuke that this was Akane's younger sister. That friend of Gou's.

Their parents stood behind her, frozen in the doorway to the kitchen. The awestruck look on their faces was almost laughable, if Sousuke wasn't on the receiving end of it.

"Mom! Dad! You're—" Akane looked at the clock and her shoulders slumped somewhat. She had never sounded so sheepish. "On time."

That meant Chigusa was late. When Sousuke asked what time he should leave—they both agreed he should avoid her parents—Akane said her sister coming home would be the cue. Her parents usually arrived after. Of all the days for routines to slip up...

Sousuke's subconscious had enough sense to put the wooden ladle back in the pot and he tried to appear more composed than he felt. How much did they see? Better yet: how much did they hear? He was well aware that him and Akane hadn't exactly been keeping their voices down the past few minutes.

"This is my..."

Akane's struggle for words was way too suspicious so the boy hurriedly stepped in.

"Friend," he answered for her. She really sucked at improvisation, didn't she? It was like she had never lied to her parents before—not that his being her friend was a lie. Was it? The thought nagged at him but was pushed to the back of his head for now. "Yamazaki Sousuke. It's nice to meet you." He bowed his head a little.

"He helped me make dinner but he's just on his way out now." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Akane's hand reach for her hair. Nervous.

Sousuke managed a smiled. "Yeah, I'm sorry to intrude—"

"Not at all," her mother beamed suddenly. She looked a lot more like Chigusa than Akane—the latter appeared to take after her father. "You're welcome to stay for dinner."

"Oh, I really shouldn't—"

"You really should." Her father was smiling too but it felt like a test—one Sousuke wasn't sure what the right answer to was, if there was one. "We'd love to meet the boy Akane invited into our home."

Sousuke looked at the girl next to him. She turned to him, face unreadable. And then Akane coughed lightly once and said, "Yeah, stay," but that felt like a test too.


	7. SEVEN

"Why the  _hell_  did you stay?"

He failed the test. When Sousuke accepted the offer, Akane had seemed nice enough, as if that was what she wanted him to do. Now, while Chigusa and their parents settled down and set the table, while the two of them fixed up bowls of noodles and beef stew, she hissed at him.

Sousuke quirked an eyebrow at her. "You said I should stay," he pointed out, handing over a multi-coloured bowl. The cabinets were filled with mismatched kitchenware like that—most of the cooking utensils were fully wooden or stainless steel but the mugs and such... those could make up a rainbow and then some.

The brunette took the bowl with a sigh but she didn't look too upset; there was mirth in her onyx eyes. "I'm the host, I'm supposed to say that." She filled the bowl with stew from the pot, still steaming hot. "You are supposed to say,  _'I'm terribly sorry but I have a curfew to keep or I made plans,'_ or something."

"Right, because you told me all that when you blinked in Morse code earlier."

"Right."

"That was a terrible impression of me, by the way."

"Good, so we're even now. That's what you get for making me sound like a pornstar earlier."

Sousuke really wanted to laugh but settled for a snicker because the sound of footsteps reminded him they weren't alone anymore. "Careful with that, by the way," he reminded her. Using a pair of tongs, he transferred about a handful of noodles from the strainer to a bowl with flowers painted on it.

Akane had been steady with pouring soup into the bowls at first but now she was getting sloppy, more focused on their whispered conversation. Soup sloshed against the sides of the container. "You don't get to do that. After three days, you should be more adept at reading m—  _ow_!"

The tongs were dropped with a clang so he could grab Akane's hand. Some of the hot stew had splashed onto the hand that was holding the bowl. All kitchenware was abandoned on the counter now though.

"Damn it, Akane, what did I  _just_  say?" Sousuke clicked his tongue.

"Oh, shut up," she muttered but winced when pressure was applied to the skin of her wrist. "H-hey, don't make it worse!"

He ignored her. "How does it feel?"

Akane stopped squirming but Sousuke swore he could feel her pulse race under his thumb. "I don't know. How does it look?"

"I don't know. But remind me never to let you multitask ever again." Wrenching her hand from his, she hit him and the boy laughed. "See? You're fine." He returned to his assigned task, telling her to be careful again.

The girl mumbled something that sounded like a  _thank you_  before going to wash her hands. As she returned to his side to follow his lead, Chigusa spoke up from behind them.

"So are you guys, like, dating or something?"

And that was probably the same question on both her parents' minds too.

Akane was quick to shut down that idea before it could develop any further. Then the pair carried the bowls—carefully—to the dining table where the other three were waiting patiently, wondering looks on their faces. No sense in trying to hide their curiousity, Sousuke figured, but still, it increased the pressure of behaving himself.

He only hoped they had their cover stories straight.

*

Her parents sat on one of the longer sides of the rectangular table. Akane made sure to nudge Sousuke into the seat diagonal to her father so he would be facing her mother, and her the other way around. Chigusa gave her sister a look when she noticed this strategic seating but sat down silently at the end between Akane and their father.

Dinner started off without much consequence. Akane and Sousuke finished placing the bowls at the respective positions, took their seats and everyone pressed their hands together to say thanks before digging in. Sousuke waited for everyone else to start before he joined, not wanting to seem too eager. But the stew was good enough to make him wish he hadn't bothered. Intensely critical, she may be, but it definitely paid off.

Then conversation started and he nearly choked on a piece of potato.

"So, Yamazaki, you're a friend from school?"

It was a normal question but Sousuke and Akane hadn't prepared answers beforehand and the truth wasn't ready to be revealed yet either. But Mr Hanamura was looking at him expectantly so Sousuke cleared his throat and answered.

"No, actually, I go to Samezuka Academy."

"Oh." Chigusa looked up. "That's where Gou-chan's brother attends." Her eyes went to her sister, probably wondering if this was a coincidence or not. Akane  _did_  ask about the school a few days ago, after all.

Sousuke nodded. "Yeah, Rin is actually an old friend of mine."

"I see. Is that how you and Akane know each other?" her mother asked.

"No."

"Yes."

The pair snapped their heads to each other, exchanging glares. Why the heck would Akane agree to  _that_?  She really chose a fine time to speak up. And she had her eyebrows furrowed at him too—maybe she was blinking in Morse code again, Sousuke thought in amusement. She looked away before he could even entertain the idea.

Smiling sheepishly, she tried to get them out of the trap they fell into. "Well, yes and no. My classmate—Tachibana—he's in the school swim club and our schools are kind of rivals so he knows Rin and, uh..." She trailed off with a shrug.

Sousuke picked up his glass to drink and hide his grin at the same time. It was funny to see Akane in such a fluster, what a contrast it was to her usual cool confidence.

Chigusa and her father nodded like they bought it but her mother had her forehead creased thoughtfully. " _Tachibana_..." she murmured. "Isn't that the boy you brought home last time?"

"Mom!" Akane shrieked.

Giggling, Chigusa leaned forward in her seat to catch Sousuke's eye. "She had he hugest crush on him back then."

"Chigusa!"

"I'm just wondering if there's a pattern forming here." Mrs Hanamura raised her hands in surrender but grinned in contradiction.

Akane disputed the idea immediately and Sousuke felt like he should too. But the whole scene was rather amusing so he smiled to himself as the women bickered between themselves. After a few jabs, even Mr Hanamura joined in.

"You haven't brought home anyone else since Tachibana-kun," he pointed out. "You know you can tell us if you've started dating someone."

"God knows you need a boyfriend," Chigusa said in a concerned tone but her face said otherwise.

"You never introduce us to any of your friends either." Her mother.

"Now I know why you were so interested in the swimming competition the other day, neechan."

Then Akane: "Sousuke is not any kind of special friend, okay? And, Chigusa, you like guys in Speedos just as much as I do."

"It must run in the family."

Mrs Hanamura hit her husband's arm.

This time, Sousuke really did feel like water went down the wrong pipe. He coughed, interrupting the conversation abruptly. A napkin was pushed into his hand but he lightly shrugged Akane off when she put a hand on his back.

"Is something funny?" Mr Hanamura asked, not at all menacingly but not worriedly either.

Sousuke realized he was chuckling to himself and stopped. He couldn't help the grin on his face though. "No, sorry. It's just... your family seems very close, sir. I see why Akane is always so eager to get home in the evenings."

It was the most sincere thing he had said to Akane's family all night and it actually made the older man smile.

"That's really sweet of you to say, Yamazaki-kun." Mrs Hanamura was beaming too.

Out the corner of his eye, Sousuke caught Akane looking at him and turned his head fully to meet her eyes. The onyx orbs were twinkling and her lips were suppressing a smile before they mouthed one word soundlessly:  _"Smooth."_

Sousuke only smiled back. He meant what he said.

"How are you and your family?" Chigusa asked.

"We're just average, I guess. I'm an only child and Samezuka is a boarding school so I don't see my parents as much."

"Well, they raised a fine young man." Mrs Hanamura nodded, beaming with warmth.

"Thank you."

Mr Hanamura waved a hand. "Don't be so modest. We raised Akane to choose her companions carefully. You must've passed, to be here."

Sousuke smiled at that. "Akane  _is_  pretty critical. She isn't a big fan of my knife skills."

"I said  _slice_ , not dice," Akane said immediately to defend herself. Then she smiled back smugly. "But so far, you've done fine, otherwise. Keep it up and I'll give you a gold star."

"So you guys have been hanging out a lot?" Chigusa asked eagerly.

So maybe not that smooth. "Just occasionally," Akane answered, softly because they were back to half-truths. She raised her chopsticks to her mouth to occupy it with noodles, taking her time to chew through it.

Akane's silence felt odd—to Sousuke, at least. The rest of her family didn't seem as put off but it wasn’t like he had his heart on his sleeve either. He probably wouldn't know if they noticed it too. The only sign was their own silence.

Willing away the discomfort, he hoped it wasn't too sudden to ask, "There was something you said earlier, Hanamura-san, about guys in Speedos..." Clearing his throat, he gave a curious smile. "Did you used to swim too then?"

The older male smiled at his wife, remembering his earlier comment that he got hit for. "No, but that  _is_  how I met the mother of my children. It was a beautiful summer day when—"

The daughters groaned dramatically, as if they have heard this story too many times which Sousuke supposed was true. It made him laugh, especially when Mr Hanamura ignored them and continued.

*

After dinner, Sousuke called for a cab so he wouldn't have to walk back to his campus. Akane wanted to wait with him—almost invited him up to her room, even, but her father insisted they continue their father-daughter game of chess.

Meanwhile, the boy offered to help do the dishes. He got no objection from anyone but Akane. She was hesitant about leaving him alone with any member of her family, he could tell. Sousuke wondered if it was because of the usual fear of embarrassment or the fear of giving mismatched information and getting caught—the latter was particular to their relationship.

Sousuke shooed her away. "You've been dying to win that round, remember?  _Go_ , Akane."

The girl hesitated at the entryway between the living room and the kitchen. In the end, she conceded with a huff. "Just so you know, my mom loves spreading untrue embarrassing stories about me. I'd just turn off my ears, if I were you."

Somewhere by the sink, her mother cried in protest.

Chuckling, Sousuke gently pushed Akane to the living room where her father was closely observing the chessboard.

"You really don't have to, dear," Mrs Hanamura told Sousuke when he started taking dishes from her to wipe down.

"The alternative is watching an intense board game so I don't mind." The young man smiled to assure her.

At the dinner table, Chigusa was texting on her phone because someone else was doing her share of the chores. "I don't mind either."

The older woman laughed. When she noticed Sousuke's smile, she asked the reason behind it.

Sousuke shook his head, towelling an orange-yellow bowl dry. "Akane does that too—crinkle her nose when she laughs." He recalled the first time he saw her do it, on the bed at Kijimata's house.

Mrs Hanamura looked like she was flattered by the observation, teal eyes softening. "She takes a lot after her father. Nice to know she picked up a few things from me."

They were silent for a while until he heard Chigusa put her phone down on the table and say: "Are we going to see more of you then?" She sounded like she was hoping for a positive answer.

But it really depended on whether Akane was truly pregnant, he supposed. If she was, the pair had already agreed Sousuke be included throughout the process. They'd tell their parents and work it out together—for the sake of the baby. But if she wasn't pregnant... there wasn't really a reason for him to stick around.

Right?

"Maybe," he answered slowly, hands unconsciously slowing down their work. Blue eyes focused on the tiny painted-on stars littering the outside of the bowl in his hold. "Akane and I aren't close friends, to be honest. We just... bumped into each other."

Chigusa groaned in disappointment. Looking over his shoulder at her, Sousuke gave a plain grin and shrugged nonchalantly. "I don't buy it," she teased. She had no idea how right she was. What he said wasn't a lie, not really, but it was far from the truth of the matter.

"I can see that Akane's very relaxed around you. I'm surprised, really." Her mother's tone was more thoughtful.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," Chigusa answered for her, picking up her phone again when it buzzed twice. "She's been super stressed out lately, senior year and all."

Mrs Hanamura frowned a little, handing the last dish to her helper. "More than that. She would disagree but I always thought she grew up too fast, you know? With her father and I so busy, it might've forced her to step up too soon." She laughed sheepishly.

Sousuke sincerely didn't know what to say to that. In the past few days, he thought he got to know Akane better but obviously not enough to have an opinion about how 'adult' she was. So he said the only thing he could mean: "I think you did a great job. Akane is amazing."

"Why, thank you."

He turned to see Akane standing in the entryway, a wide grin stretching across her face. Sousuke smirked. "You're still too bossy though."

"Awh, I was just starting to like you." The girl pouted.

Carefully, Sousuke finally placed the dish in its rightful place. "Did you win your game?"

"Yes."

"Congratulations."

"Impressed?"

"You'll have to try harder for that."

Akane snorted and then nodded her head to the exit. "Your cab is here."

Her mother smiled. "Just in time," she said, taking the towel from Sousuke.

The boy bowed his head to the hosts and thanked them for having him. Walking into the living room, he did the same to Mr Hanamura who tore his eyes away from the chessboard long enough to smile at Sousuke and ask him to visit again. Sousuke only smiled.

By the doorway, Akane was already waiting for him. His jacket, the one she hung up when they first entered, was slung over one arm. Sousuke took it from her and they headed down the porch to the gate. A taxi was waiting on the road just outside.

"Your family's nice," he told the girl as he swung his jacket on.

"Of course. Just look at their eldest daughter."

Sousuke chuckled and pulled the gate's latch, making it creak lightly. He opened his mouth to say someone should probably grease it before it got any worse but—

"Sousuke?"

He glanced over his shoulder briefly. "Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"You're welcome. For what?"

He got the latch open and pushed the gate so he could walk through. But he stopped when Akane grabbed his sleeve. Surprised, Sousuke half-turned to face her, most of him already on the sidewalk but one hand still on the edge of the gate.

The girl released her grip on the fabric and her hand slowly reached for the end of her braid again. She was nervous. Meeting her gaze though, there was seriousness in her obsidian eyes.

Akane inhaled. "For making this a lot easier than how it could be." Pink lips stretched into a small genuine smile.

Their eyes had locked and Sousuke couldn't look away if he wanted. She sounded intense and sure but that didn't surprise him as much as the fact that he felt the sudden urge to kiss her. Where did that come from?

He wanted to take her hand, the one that was fingering her hair, lean in and capture her lips with his. He wanted to know if they were as soft as he remembered, if they still tasted like cherries.

It confused the hell out of him.

But in his long silence, the edges of Akane's mouth started to drop in uncertainty. So the boy flashed his signature cool grin. "I hope that's not your idea of a love declaration, Akane." Sousuke swore he could kick himself for that remark.

The brunette only rolled her eyes, the warmth never leaving her expression. "If you're hoping for one, don't hold your breath." She grabbed the metal gate and her guest removed his hand from it.

Sousuke could hear the latch creak closed as he entered the patient cabbie's car. "Good night." Lifting a hand, he waved behind him.

"Night, Sousuke. See you Sunday."


	8. EIGHT

Apparently, the world wasn't done surprising him yet because Sousuke bumped into his roommate at the stairs, on their way to the dorms. They both frowned.

"Why are you still up?"

Rin opened his mouth to answer but then closed it. He smirked, stuck his hands into his pockets and walked ahead of the other. "It's complicated," he said in mock seriousness, in a way that sounded like he _wanted_ Sousuke to ask further. Daring him, even.

The taller male trudged after him, speeding up a few steps to catch up. "I'm not doing that with you, Rin."

"Gee, I wonder how that feels."

"You're a big baby."

"Hey!"

"You started it."

Chuckling, Rin punched Sousuke's shoulder. The gesture almost made him smile, the familiarity reminding him of Akane—except Akane always aimed for his left arm, mindful of the injury he never told his best friend about. Not to mention the fact that she did it with much less force.

Sousuke had to refrain from wincing but rolled his right shoulder lightly. "So you're going to tell me or not?" he tried again.

The other gave him a sideways glance, carding a hand though his locks. "Just teaching a butterfly how to swim." It sounded like a joke, or at least, it sounded like it should be. But Rin's grin had softened at whatever thought was going through his head and Sousuke quirked an eyebrow at that.

When Rin didn't laugh, silent long enough for epiphany to dawn on Sousuke, the dark-haired boy frowned. "You're talking about that butterfly stroke swimmer from Iwatobi."

"It's still a secret though so don't tell."

"Exactly whom would I tell?"

"Fair enough. Rei just wanted a refresher course." The redhead shrugged. They had finally reached their floor and Rin slid out his copy of their room key, spinning it around one finger.

He said it so casually but Sousuke struggled to understand.

That Ryugazaki had asked Rin for help with his other strokes some time ago and the latter spent a few days training him every single day. The arrangement had long since ended but Ryugazaki must've wanted to refresh that training.

Rin didn't have to do anyone any favours, especially not for the boy his old friends replaced him with. Though Sousuke supposed that wasn't quite fair to think. But Rin was definitely better off using that time to brush up on his own skills, considering his goal to compete in the Olympics.

That was one thing he never really got about Rin Matsuoka—how his passion for swimming revolved so much around the people he swam with, how being apart from his friends made him hit a wall in Australia.

Sousuke had half a mind to tell him not to bother but the other half remembered that the reason he came to Samezuka in the first place was to swim with Rin before Sousuke quit swimming completely. Hang up his jammers and admit defeat to his shoulder. So he kept his mouth shut.

Rin, on the other hand, had other plans. "So where have _you_ been, Sou?"

He wanted to say that he'd been in their room this whole time but that would be a lame lie, he knew. "I had dinner with Akane's family," he went with instead, voice incredibly plain.

Red eyes went wide and everything about Rin's face said he was impressed. For finally opening up or for making progress in a non-existent relationship? A few seconds of silence passed and Sousuke would bet that Rin was trying to figure out how much more he coax out of the other. The nosiness wasn't unwarranted.

"How was it?" he finally said.

"Okay."

"Did they like you?"

"I think so."

"Did you like them?"

"Yeah."

"Good."

They the door to their dorm then and Rin took his time working on the lock in silence. It wasn't like it took so much concentration so the quiet bugged Sousuke. "What, that's it? You're not going to ask anymore?"

The redhead smirked before he replied, "Do you want me to ask?"

Sousuke didn't know how to answer that. He'd gotten used to Rin probing for answers; he didn't think he actually  _wanted_ that. In a way, the questions forced Sousuke try to think of the answers even when he wouldn't give them verbally. Not that the responsibility should fall to Rin—or anyone else, for that matter. But...

"Well?"

Sousuke looked up. The door was already open and his roommate poked his head out from inside the dorm. Sousuke followed him inside.

*

He decided not to divulge in a little heart-to-heart with Rin, in the end, and Rin didn't pressure him to. Maybe a day off would help clear Sousuke's head. They'll find out the results on Sunday, agreeing for the doctor to call Akane. In turn, she would call Sousuke and if the results were positive, they'd meet up and figure out the next step. If the results were negative, that'll be the end of it. They didn't really talk about what they'd do then.

So Saturday. Saturday would be his day off from all the recent craziness—hard to believe it took less than a week.

The Samezuka swim club went shopping that day—for goggles and jammers and stuff Sousuke didn't need to buy more of but he tagged along anyway.

"Okay, guys. Meet back here in an hour. Pick whatever swimsuit works for you but don't go crazy," Rin told their team.

The others responded with the typical "Yes, sir!" which never failed to make Sousuke snigger at least a little. His old cry baby friend really grew up, didn't he?

When they walked away, Rin's shoulders relaxed as he sighed. "Thanks for coming. I know you both probably had better things to do."

Next to him, Nitori smiled. "It's fine."

Of course it was. The gray-haired boy pretty much put his senpai on a pedestal so everything Rin did would be fine to him, Sousuke thought amusedly. He distracted himself by picking a pair of jammers off the rack. "Don't worry. I was thinking of buying myself a new swimsuit anyway." Not really but whatever.

Just then, Momotaro's voice rang down the aisle—he had spotted Rin's sister. Almost immediately, Rin went over to interrupt them, even putting his teammate in a headlock. Sousuke and Nitori followed behind him.

It was nice seeing Gou again. They were never really close but they did go to the same elementary school and they had Rin in common.

Sousuke wondered if the rest of the Iwatobi swim club was with her but apparently not. Did she go shopping with her friend then? With Akane's little sister, maybe?

And Akane with her, even?

Gou's giggling brought the boy back to reality. Without realizing it, the other guys had gone off to pick a more suitable swimsuit for Momotaro—not that flashy stuff he'd been selecting, so far. Sousuke looked at the girl next to him. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing, nothing at all." She started to turn but halted abruptly. "Oh, hey, wait!"

"Yeah?"

"Are you and Hanamura Akane dating?"

It took all Sousuke had to keep calm. Still, some of the embarrassment probably showed in his pink ears and warm cheeks. "Where did that come from, Gou?"

The redhead smiled innocently. "Her sister's my friend and she said Akane-san brought home a boy named Sousuke last night. Her description fit you so..."

"She didn't mention how we insisted we _weren't_ dating?"

"She did."

Sousuke blinked and then sighed which made Gou giggle again. "Don't worry about it. I gotta get back to shopping anyway." Turning again, she walked away.

"See ya..."

*

Coincidentally, Akane was there at the mall too that day. She was by herself and wouldn't have crossed paths with Sousuke, even, if he hadn't decided to grab a drink with Rin from a vending machine.

Akane was about head home with absolutely nothing but a bar of chocolate purchased when she spotted the pair at the otherwise empty foyer. She stopped herself from walking through, boots clicking once on the concrete floor.

The redhead glanced over his shoulder but not before Akane quickly ducked behind a wall.

Ugh, did they see her?

She should probably wait in case he called for her—just to make it not so obvious that she wanted to run away...

In actuality, she almost bumped into them earlier at the clothing aisles too. But Sousuke was with that pretty friend of Chigusa's and he was blushing which was equal parts adorable and strange. Not feeling like letting him see her, she had hurried away while the two were talking.

Anyway, Sousuke and Matsuoka were talking in the foyer alright but it had nothing to do with her, apparently. Something about the latter not contacting Sousuke after moving to Australia?

This was the perfect cue for her to scamper off but despite that, Akane found herself continuing to listen.

She'd never heard Sousuke sound so... _down_ , for lack of a better word. Sure, he'd been pretty shaken up when she told him about the pregnancy but he wasn't sad then. And all the times after, he was the one who had to cheer her up or lighten the mood.

It made her realize that Sousuke had a lot more going on than their situation. Then there was that shoulder too. Akane suddenly felt like a jerk for forgetting about that. Aside from the pregnancy thing, all _she_ had to deal with was school.

Well, after tomorrow, hopefully he'll have one less... burden.

Was that really what she was to him?

"Akane?"

She yelped, shooting upright from leaning on the wall. The two boys had walked out of the foyer and must've noticed her just standing there. Great. "H-hey."

Sousuke only stared at her in surprise and she stared back, an unreadable look in her obsidian eyes. Rin looked between the two of them, wondering what was going on. His friend had said they were 'complicated' but there was no coldness in either of their gazes. It was definitely awkward though.

Wanting to break the tension, Rin thrust out his hand to the girl. "Hanamura, right? I'm Matsuoka. We met when you came by Samezuka."

Akane blinked out of her trance to shake his hand. "Uh, yeah. Sousuke mentioned you two were old friends..." She smiled, polite and small.

"Need to borrow him again?"

That silenced her, surprisingly. "No, that's okay. I don't want to interrupt anything."

"You're not."

At least, that was what Rin wanted to say but the other had beaten him to it. He peered at Sousuke who had barely looked away from Akane since he saw her. In turn, the expression on her face was more intense when turned to him.

Jeez.

"Did you want something?" Sousuke asked.

"Well, not really but... I don't know. Is there something _you_ wanted?"

"Not really."

Rin was starting understand what people meant by third-wheeling now. He cleared his throat. "Well, Sou, you should be a gentleman and walk her home anyway." He patted the taller male's back, smirking.

"No, really—"

"Rin, this isn't—"

"Just _go_ ," the redhead urged with an inward groan. He kneed the back of the Sousuke's leg to nudge him forward.

There was pinkness in Sousuke's cheeks for a second time that day. Akane smiled shyly which was cute too, if not out of character. Before they knew it, Rin had made himself scarce, probably to find the rest of his teammates or something.

After a few beats of silence, Sousuke gestured in direction of the exit and forgot how to smile normally. "You went shopping again?"

"No, uhm, I just got some chocolate." The girl lifted the single bar of candy in her hand.

"You sure like that one."

"Yeah." She paused, fingering the edge of the wrapper. "This is awkward."

Of all things, that remark made the boy snort but even that felt half-hearted. "Back there, with Rin, that was kind of weird too," he admitted, thinking it would lighten the mood some more.

But Akane got tight-lipped and they walked quietly before she murmured something that sounded like, "Should we talk about it?"

"Maybe."

She nodded but said nothing to continue that line of thought. Sousuke figured he could contribute but couldn’t find the words either. The tension earlier wasn't sexual or romantic, even. It was just _weird_.

"Or," Akane said suddenly, shrugging, "you know, we _could_ just let it go."

The other was quick to agree. "With everything we're going through, we deserve some slack."

"Right?"

"Right."

Akane giggled and he smiled at the way her nose crinkled. Then, tiredness gracing her features, she sighed softly to herself. "Let's stop by the docks. Just relax, you know?"

"You don't have to rush home?" He glanced at his watch and like the low sun, it indicated the arrival of evening time.

She shrugged again. "I can spare you an hour or two today." Without another word, she walked on ahead. Sousuke didn't argue, jogging a few steps to catch up with her.

The idea of small talk was kind of annoying. Little titbits of information that would serve no function in the near or far future... Pointless, really. But the pair found themselves partaking in small talk anyway as they walked to the docks.

Without cues, they both sat down at the end of the wooden pier, surrounded by boats obstructing their view of the horizon but neither minded. Akane strategically crushed the chocolate bar she purchased and peeled the packet open so they can snack on it.

"So I've been meaning to ask—did Chigusa or my mum say anything embarrassing in my absence yesterday?" she asked through a wince.

Sousuke popped a piece of chocolate into his mouth. "Define _embarrassing_." Akane reached over to smack his arm but he leaned just out of the way, chuckling smugly. "What would I get out of telling you anyway?" he pointed out.

The girl nibbled on a larger piece for herself. "I'll tell you what my dad said about you."

"Deal."

She snorted. "That was easy."

"Do you want to hear it or not, Akane?"

"Okay, okay, go on."

Sousuke faced the gap between the boats, raising one knee to fold his leg and rest his chin on. "Your mum's worried she might've forced you to grow up too soon."

The girl didn't say anything for a while. She must be taken aback. "What do you think?" she murmured, focusing on peeking at the horizon too now.

"She may be right. But I told her I think you turned out pretty good anyway."

"Ah, so it's _you_ who was embarrassing me."

Sousuke smirked. "So what did your dad say?"

"Nothing."

His head snapped to glare at the girl for leading him to believe there was something he would've liked to know. But Akane only smiled—not mischievously or thoughtfully, she just _smiled_.

"He didn't warn me to stay away from you or anything so I think he likes you."

The relief Sousuke felt wasn't unwelcome but it did surprise him. It didn't matter if Akane's dad liked him, right? Not if she turned out to be not pregnant. But if she was, Mr Hanamaru would definitely be less keen on him.

"Not that it matters, right?" the boy said absentmindedly. But he quickly added: "You've got your heart set on that Tachibana guy your mum mentioned, after all."

Akane looked confused but embarrassment rapidly replaced it. "That was ages ago, I can't believe she remembers." She grouchily snatched some chocolate and munched on it.

"He's that swimmer from the Iwatobi club, isn't he? Tall and broad—"

"—and sculpted like a Greek statue." She hummed appreciatively, smiling to herself. Pervert. "Evidently, I have a type."

Sousuke couldn't resist smirking. "Was that a compliment, Akane?"

"Maybe, Sousuke, maybe. You did manage to seduce me."

He laughed. "I remember our tussle in the sheets beginning a little differently. You kissed me first."

Akane smiled at the memory. "I guess I did." She picked at the floorboards.

"Who would've thought we'd end up here, hm?"

"Yeah."

Was that a good 'yeah' or a bad one? Sure, they were getting along but they kind of had to if Akane was really pregnant. Call it a moral obligation that turned out to be pleasant. But this wasn't something either of them wanted, they both knew that.

"Well." The girl stood suddenly, brushing imaginary dust off her shirt and crumpling the candy wrapper in one hand. "Tomorrow's the big day so let's get a good night's rest while we can."

She was about to run off, he could tell, so Sousuke hurriedly grabbed her empty hand. "Akane." They looked at each other. "You're not allowed to do that—act all nervous and bashful around me. Don't go like this."

"Don't _say_ cheesy stuff like that," she shot back with more sting in her words than intended. "I don't want to get confused about what we are."

Sousuke felt his blue eyes narrow into glare. He had half a mind to ask her just _what were they_ then. But a guilty expression took over the other's face when she pulled her hand back from his grasp. "I'm just nervous about tomorrow, okay? Aren't I allowed that?" Her voice was softer.

Now Sousuke felt like the jerk. Sighing, he rubbed the back of his neck tiredly. "Of course, you are. I just don't want us to part like this—all weird." For lack of a better one, that word kept coming up that evening.

"We're not weird." She smiled.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. That whole thing with Matsuoka... it just caught us off guard, right?"

Last night, the Hanamura's had caught them off guard too. Then again, they didn't suspect something was going on between Akane and Sousuke, unlike Rin. So the boy nodded uncertainly. "Right." One more nod, more affirmative this time. "Okay."

Akane giggled but it didn't make her nose crinkle. "You know I usually dread 'the next morning' but tomorrow will help clear things up. I'll text you the results when I get them."

Sousuke took a deep breath to recompose himself. "Till tomorrow then. Whatever happens, happens." Trying his best to be satisfied with this, they walked off the docks, onto the beach, and parted ways.


	9. NINE

Strangely enough, or maybe not so strangely, Sousuke found himself at the docks again the very next morning. The air had a hint of salt from the sea and was cold so he was glad he had decided to wear his jacket today. He inhaled deeply. Standing like he was then, he could see the sunrise better—unlike the other times he’d been here. Then again, the horizon wasn’t really the view during those times.

"Excuse me, this is my spot."

The voice was unmistakable, making the boy grin. "I was just thinking how peaceful it is here when I'm alone."

Akane exaggerated a laugh, taking a few more steps to stand next to him. "Funny. I had the same thought." They shared a relaxed smile before she sat down. She was never interested in seeing the scene past the boats, he realized. A thousand-yard stare adorned the part of her face that Sousuke could see from that angle.

A few minutes were spent in silence but it wasn't like the tense one they experienced yesterday. Still, something was lingering in the air between them.

"It's almost nine," Sousuke pointed out tonelessly. That was when the clinic would open, when the doctor said she would get Akane's pregnancy test results..

He couldn't tell if Akane heard what he said because all she did was shiver, rubbing her arms. A thin t-shirt like the one she wore could only do so much against the cold. She was trying to act fine but Sousuke knew better by the way her shoulders were hunched and knees hugged to her body. She had slipped off her flats, revealing fair toes which kept curling and uncurling.

Sousuke took off his jacket and laid it across her shoulders. She looked up and took a second before smiling. "Thanks." Akane shifted to slip her arms through the sleeves and zip up the front. Then, like the night they spent together, she leaned back to lie down on the wooden floorboards. Good thing it wasn't wet from the sea splashing lightly around it.

"See? I don't always say _'oh'_ when you do something nice," she teased, titling her head back to see him.

Eyes locked, Sousuke smirked at her before she relaxed again with a gentle sigh. Sousuke remained standing to watch the sun fully emerge from the horizon. Once its rays had graced the sky, only then did he lay down too, on Akane's right.

"Sousuke."

"Hm."

"Am I horrible for not wanting this?"

Sousuke turned his head to look at the girl. A thin line of tears ran off the side of her face. "Oh, shit."

"Hey!" She laughed. She freakin’ _laughed_ as she wiped hurriedly at her face, rolling onto her side so her back was facing him. "Th-that's not what you're supposed to say when you see a girl crying!"

"Akane—"

"Jeez, you suck at this..."

"Akane," he said more firmly, propping himself up with an elbow. His other hand reached out to pull Akane onto her back. Shoulders shaking, her hands covered her face to restrain her sobs. He tried tugging on her arms to urge her to lower her hands but she refused. Determined, Sousuke sat up properly, wrapped his fingers around her wrists and forced her to lower them.

Her eyes and nose were red. She was biting down on her lower lip to stubbornly hold in her cries. Her shoulders slumping, she seemed to give up and look away. "Ugh, I must look like a disaster. Don't give me those eyes—you're not allowed to look intensely hot and gentle at the same time, you know."

There was that defence mechanism again, objectifying the situation as an emotional barrier. Sousuke was well-aware he did the same thing by making fun of the tension when it became too heavy. Avoiding something was much easier than facing it.

"I'm a wreck too."

Akane scoffed like she didn't believe it. "Really?"

"Really." Sousuke let go of her hands so he could move her face to meet his gaze. He was no good with words, didn't know how to tell her that this whole thing was messing him up too. Comforting others wasn't a skill of his either.

So that look in her onyx eyes, the one that said she was waiting for a follow-up, for him to say something, scared Sousuke. Damn.

At a loss, he leaned forward wordlessly and kissed her forehead in what he hoped was a comforting manner. Then he lied down next to her again, pulling her into his embrace as he did. Akane trembled against him.

"I'm not ready," he told her honestly.

"Me neither."

"You worry me."

Akane snorted humourlessly. "Why?" The question was sarcastic.

"We're friends now, aren't we?" Were they? Two people couldn't really go through something so dramatic and get along without being friends, right?

Silence. And then: "Yeah." The pair stayed like that for a few seconds until Akane shifted in his hold. "This is uncomfortable." Pushing his arms, Sousuke thought she wanted to get up but all she did was adjust their positions so her back pressed against his chest.

Reaching behind her, she sought his arm again but accidentally brushed his sides.

Sousuke flinched and squirmed.

Akane giggled softly and he wondered if her nose had crinkled. When she turned her head to see his face, his suspicions were confirmed. It wasn't much but there were a few wrinkles on the bridge of her still-reddened nose. He almost forgot she had been crying.

"Still ticklish?" she asked. If it weren't for the dampness in her eyes, something he could only see from this close, he wouldn't have believed she had been crying at all. Akane had always been so composed, unfazed.

Sousuke rolled his eyes lightly. "That kind of thing doesn't just go away, you know."

The girl giggled again and he got to see that nose-crinkle in action this time. She took his arm, pulled it over her and proceeded to hug it like a pillow. Closing her eyes, she rested her head on her own folded arm, tucked under her head.

"You're a good guy, Sousuke."

"Hey, don't fall asleep." In any other context, he probably would've let her—even if the wooden floorboards weren't exactly cozy. But nine o'clock was approaching faster than he would've liked.

"I won't." Akane picked up her phone from where it lay abandoned a few feet away. She pressed on a button to light up the screen. The time flashed at them. She put it down again. "Two minutes to nine. We have two minutes."

In contradiction, her phone rang suddenly.

Sousuke chuckled. "Or not."

Akane sat up first and Sousuke followed suit, looking at the phone in her hand over her shoulder.

Doctor Ishikawa, of course.

"She did say _around_ nine..." Putting on a brave face, she smiled to the boy before picking up the call and putting it on loudspeaker. "Hello?"

*

When Akane hung up, her expression was unreadable—which so rarely happened that Sousuke knew it meant she was somewhere between surprised and shaken up.

"So?" He had to look upwards to see her.

When the doctor broke the news that they weren’t pregnant after all, she moved on to investigate a little into why Akane’s period was late. So Akane took the call off loudspeaker and walker over to the end of the docks to talk more privately.

Now, she returned to Sousuke and sat down cross-legged in front of him. She was still wearing his jacket. "Doctor Ishikawa said it's most likely that an overload of stress caused some kind of hormonal imbalance in me. Other stuff like my diet could be a contributing factor too—something like that."

"Do you have to go see her again?"

Akane swept her hair back from her face. Her braid was coming loose, dark brown tendrils falling. "Uhm... Yeah. The positive home tests are enough concern so I booked an appointment for later this week."

"Need company?"

"No, I'll be fine. Don't worry."

"We're friends, Akane." He smirked. "Worrying is an occupational hazard."

The other pressed her lips together to suppress a smile. But then her eyes cast downwards. "About that... I'm sorry."

"For what?" Sousuke grabbed her hand as it reached for her ponytail, knowing she would finger it out of nervousness. He was starting to understand a lot of her cues.

She met his cerulean eyes dead-on in surprise. Her gaze softened, appearing truly apologetic. "I got us all concerned and stuff over nothing. In hindsight, everything is kind of embarrassing—sorry, Sousuke." Her other hand tried to cover her flushed face.

The boy grabbed that one too, lowering both Akane's hands into the space between them—which wasn't much, he noticed. They were sitting cross-legged and their knees were almost touching.

Akane pouted lightly at the restraints which Sousuke almost laughed at. She looked cute.

"You had enough cause for concern. I'm glad you found me," he told her honestly. Sure, he hadn't been too happy about it initially but an unplanned pregnancy would catch anyone off guard. Aside from that, when they pretended nothing out of sorts was happening to them, he really enjoyed those times. He was pretty sure the feeling was mutual.

But Akane only huffed, blowing the hair out of her eyes. The wind was making the stray strands fly around her face but she didn’t take her hands out of Sousuke's to fix that. Mentally, he took note of this and tried not to bring attention to the fact that they were kind of holding hands then. Their touch lacked grip though, so he couldn't read much into it.

"That's another thing. I'm sorry I made things weird between us."

Suddenly, he wanted to retract his hands but he didn't. "What do you mean?"

"You _know_ what I mean, Sousuke."

He did.

"We were totally cuddling just now—I'm not that dense."

Sousuke blinked at her and neither could avert their gazes. "I guess we really should talk about what we are."

The girl inhaled. "Yeah." She licked her lips. "I was in a vulnerable state—"

"Shit, I wasn't trying to take advantage of you, I swear."

Akane laughed. "I know. You're a gentleman," she teased but there was warmth in it. And some in her cheeks too, apparently, because they were a rosy shade of pink. "You were being so nice and I think _I_ took advantage of that. All the lines just kind of got blurry..."

That... actually sounded very likely. He doubted Akane would take advantage of anyone, though he wouldn't fault her in this situation, but he definitely agree with the part about blurred lines. Sousuke looked at their hands, holding each other but without any grip. He sighed and nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, that makes sense." He nodded again. Too much?

"Yeah." The brunette nodded too though. "So, friends?"

"Does that mean we'll be keeping in touch?"

"Only if you want to. I mean, _I_ want to—you're fun."

"You are too. I said so that night, didn't I?"

"You did."

He grinned, feeling satisfied with the outcome. After all that... this was okay. Somewhat anti-climatic but that was their thing, right? "So, friends." He looked to the beach where people were starting to appear. "Want to grab a platonic meal?"

Akane finally squeezed his hands, giggling. "It's like you platonically read my mind, Sousuke."

*

It wasn't weird. Not really, but Sousuke did feel like the other was being careful not to overstep any of the 'blurred lines' she mentioned earlier. She wasn't as touchy as she used to be, something Sousuke didn't realize she was until she wasn't. On his side, he didn't think he acted much different from before. Did he?

The weird part, he supposed, was the fact that they know there wasn't an excuse to hang out—no possible pregnancy that forced them to make pleasantries or whatever—so this was just them. Anyway, it was still nice. He enjoyed her company and after a while, they properly relaxed around each other.

Sousuke liked being with Akane. Her main flaw, few they may be, was her indecisiveness which showed when they were picking a pick to eat at the broadwalk. They walked down it, browsing through some menus that never seemed to meet her approval.

"Let's see some other options," she would say.

The boy pointed out the frequency of that line, rolling his eyes but continuing down the beach to the next open stall—it was still too early for some of the joints so at least that narrowed down her choices.

Pouting, Akane sped up a bit to catch up with him. "I just want to make sure we get something we'll enjoy."

"And I thought it's the company that counts," Sousuke said, feigning hurt. Hands tucked in his pockets, he smirked at the girl beside him.

"It is. And since I'm stuck with you, the food has to be extra good."

"Hey!"

They had to stop because Akane got weak at the knees with laughter. She could be so immature at times. Sousuke stood in front of her, patiently waiting for her to stop. It took a moment. "Are you done?"

She let out one last snicker before regaining her breath and grinning impishly at the other.

Sousuke returned that grin coolly. "I think you're just picky. You're pretty bossy in a kitchen, I don't know why I didn't think you'd be as strict with the food you buy."

"Hey!" She smacked his left arm before holding up a finger in warning. "Careful, Sousuke, I know your weakness."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah." And suddenly, Akane was tickling his side.

Sousuke flinched away but the girl persisted, taking a step forward to do it again. He slapped her hand away but couldn't refrain from smiling. "You're cruel, Akane. So much for being friends." He poked her back.

Akane laughed, her hands retreating to her sides as they continued their walk. At least, they were _about_ to but they only managed a few feet before a voice screeched Akane's name. The pair whirled around in surprise to see a black-haired girl rush up to them.

"H-hatsue," Akane stuttered out.

Wasn't that the name of the friend that had dragged her to Kijimata's party that night? Sousuke dug through his memories. He was pretty sure this was one of the girls Akane was surrounded by that day he searched for her at her school too.

The shorter girl looked between the two of them and excitement filled her face. "I knew it! You _were_ lying about not dating tall-dark-and-handsome, weren't you?"

"What?" both Sousuke and Akane said simultaneously. Though they probably shouldn't be so shocked—plenty people had mistaken them for a couple.

Akane turned red but tried to sound angry when she said, "I wasn't lying! Gee, say it a little louder, would you?"

"So you weren't dating but now you are?"

"No!"

"Please, you never even go out—"

"We're just grabbing a bite to eat," Sousuke interjected once he felt his cheeks cool. He bowed his head a little. "I'm Yamazaki Sousuke." This girl was quite blunt, wasn't she? He could see why Akane and her got along so well.

She blushed like she had forgotten he was standing right there but bowed too. "Hattori Hatsue." Then she smiled. "Let me guess. Akane-chan can't pick a place, right, Yamazaki-kun?"

"Hey, aren't you being a little too familiar too quickly there?"

Akane had a point but Sousuke didn't mind all too much so he ignored that for now. "Speaking from experience?" he replied instead.

Hattori nodded, sighing dramatically. "She never goes out so she wouldn't know what’s good unless it's in a grocery store. Come on, I'll recommend something you won't regret." With that, she trudged off in a direction.

Sousuke made to follow until he realized his companion wasn't. The brunette looked hesitant and embarrassed. Blue eyes rolled as Sousuke grabbed her hand and pulled her along. He'll be damned if breakfast took any longer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear I'm not dragging this out uwu sorry for taking so long


	10. TEN

****Hattori took the pair to a busy stall so they ended up having to wait in line to even order their food. Lots of people meant it should be pretty good, right?

They had only gotten in line when Akane huffed and said, "Really, Sousuke, you wouldn't wait for me to pick something but you're willing to stand in a line that's barely moving?"

As if on cue, the person in front of them moved up in line. Still holding her hand, Sousuke tugged her forward with him. "See, we're moving."

She had been pouting but when he smirked down at her, Akane rolled her black eyes and smiled too. Then she glanced next to him and pulled her hand out of his grasp. "Don't you dare read into that, Hatsu-chan." She folded her arms across her chest, that pout returning to her lips.

When Sousuke looked at the other girl, she was holding her hands up in surrender. "Hey, it's not _that unspoken thing_ if you speak of it."

"What are they selling here anyway, Hattori-san? Looks popular." Sousuke nodded his head to where the front of the line was obstructed from view by customers.

"It's a surprise." Hattori winked. "But trust me, it's worth it."

"It better be..."

Sousuke bumped Akane’s shoulder with his. "Akane's just being a critic. She's a perfectionist."

"Hey, you don't have to tell _me_ that. I've known Akane-chan since elementary."

"Wow, that's a long time." The boy thought about how far Rin and him went back too. But there was a big gap in their friendship timeline, what with the latter moving away to Australia and Sousuke being in Tokitsu when he moved back. To be able to stick together the whole time was pretty impressive.

Hattori laughed, pulling him out of his thoughts. "I'm hurt! Doesn't she talk about me?"

Sousuke felt embarrassed. "We don't really talk about much, actually."

"Huh... no offense, but now I feel better about saying she doesn't speak of you, either, Yamazaki-kun."

"There's nothing _to_ talk about. We've only hung out for a few days," Akane added defensively but softly.

Back to half-truths, he noticed. This reminded Sousuke of the dinner he had with the Hanamura family. It was enjoyable, definitely, but whenever the topic of how the two knew each other, they got a bit more careful with their responses. Keeping secrets was a pain in the ass. Although their situation had cleared up, the fact that it happened at all wasn't something one just casually shared.

Hattori tapped her chin. "So is that why you've been so MIA this week?" she asked.

The boy fidgeted. Rin was wondering the same thing about him so it made sense that Akane's absence wouldn't go unnoticed by her friends either. Glancing at Akane, Sousuke's suspicions were confirmed by the guilty look on her face.

"Yeah," she finally said. "Sorry about that, Hatsu-chan."

Whether she was really over it or not, the other girl shrugged. "How about you make it up to me with a shopping spree later?"

The smile that spread Akane's cheeks then was so warm, Sousuke almost wished he was the reason behind it. Had she always been such a softie? She was around Hattori, in any case.

Speaking of which, when did Sousuke turn into a softie too? Thinking thoughts like these...

Slinging an arm around Hattori, Akane giggled. "Shouldn't that be _your_ way of making up for dragging me to that party the other day?"

Hattori pouted. "Hey, I thought you ended up enjoying that!"

"I was still dragged."

"You're cruel, Akane-chan."

Giggling again, the brunette released her death hold. "So we're even."

"Ugh, Yamazaki-kun, come with us! You can be my backup."

"What? If anything, Sousuke should be backing _me_ up."

The boy chuckled at the exchange he witnessed. "I appreciate you girls fighting over me but I'm afraid I won't be backing anyone up today. I have an appointment." Absentmindedly, he rolled his right shoulder. He didn't even realize he did it until he saw Akane's eyes follow the movement.

Something flashed in her eyes. "Oh, I forgot about that," she murmured.

The black-haired girl slumped her shoulders. "That's a shame."

Sousuke shrugged. "Besides, I think I've kept Akane from you for long enough."

"He also doesn't want to risk being the one to carry our shopping," Akane joked, giving him a wink with their little inside joke. It obviously confused Hattori but she didn't ask about it. Walking backwards, Akane started to pull her phone out of her pocket. "I should call my parents and tell them I won't be home for a while."

With that, she excused herself to find a more secluded spot. Sousuke watched her braided ponytail swing behind her as she scampered off.

"She must really like you."

"Hm?" Sousuke felt his cheeks warm and mentally cursed for being so easily affected.

Hattori didn't notice his barely-there blush. She wasn't even looking at him—she was watching Akane get out of earshot too. Inhaling deeply, she finally turned to the taller boy. He towered over her but she met his gaze steadily. "Akane-chan. I haven't seen her that cheery in a while."

A wave of guilt washed over Sousuke. Was that because of the whole pregnancy scare? A glimpse of the emotion must've shown on his face because Hattori laughed suddenly.

"You look like you're thinking it's your fault. How long have you known each other?"

Should he answer a week because that was when she found him or should he answer _a few_ weeks because they actually met at Kijimata's party? In the end, he went with: "Why?"

"Because I'm pretty sure you're the reason she's so cheery," said Hattori, as if this was obvious.

" _I'm_ pretty sure you're giving me too much credit." Sousuke chuckled, though unsure where this burst of humility came from.

The girl shook her head at him. "It started slowly but Akane-chan's been totally stressed out ever since senior year started. It's gotten really bad the past month or so—I couldn't remember the last time she laughed real hard, you know?"

"Hard enough that her nose and the edges of her eyes wrinkle?"

It was meant to sound teasing, something they could both laugh about. But Hattori nodded seriously, looking pleasantly impressed.

"Yeah." She giggled. "She never wants to hang out too so finally, I forced her to come gate-crash this party with me a few weeks back—that's the one that we were talking about earlier."

"Oh," he said, like he didn't know exactly which party this was.

"Anyway, whether she enjoyed it or not, it didn't last long."

They moved up in line.

Hattori took that moment to glance at the stall, staring much longer than necessary. Then she looked back at him so suddenly, the boy started internally. This was just not his day. "But _today_! I won't insist that there's something going on between you two but today, she's taking a walk and she looks happy doing it and she just agreed to go shopping with for the first time in _ages_ so..." She shrugged again.

If Sousuke took what Hattori said seriously, some of the pieces fell together. Doctor Ishikawa had mentioned that stress could cause a hormonal imbalance. According to Hattori, school could be the source of the stress and according to Mrs Hanamura, it was the fact that Akane grew up too fast. Maybe it was both and it was finally taking its toll on Akane.

Damn, that girl really needed to relax more.

Sousuke made a mental note to tell her this before she went to see the doctor again.

"You're pretty cool, Hattori-san," he blurted.

Grinning, Hattori playfully flipped her hair over one shoulder. "Excuse me, I happen to be _very_ cool."

By then, they had finally reached the front of the line and got three orders of takoyaki—which was a bit anticlimactic considering how much Hattori had talked up the place. Nonetheless, they took their food and went to find some seats at the tables set up by the sides. Akane returned to join them just as they sat down—her and Sousuke on one side and Hattori on the other.

"Did you get permission, Miss Goody-Two-Shoes?" Hattori teased before stabbing a ball of takoyaki with her skewer.

Akane laughed humourlessly but then her attention moved to the boy who had slid one tray of takoyaki to her—they got three of those to share between them. She wrinkled her nose slightly. "Looks greasy," she pointed out.

Her best friend protested after swallowing a big mouthful, "That's the best part!"

It made Sousuke chuckle as he skewered a piece and put it in his mouth. Not bad. He had probably tasted better somewhere some time ago but this was a good contender anyway. He was no critic. "Try it."

The brunette hummed, watching him. "Maybe I'll wait to see if you two pass out—"

"We really need to find something better to do for your sharp tongue."

"I bet you have a few ideas already."

"Nothing you haven't done before."

Hattori choked, stealing their focus. She coughed and patted her chest. Then she looked at them with a mortified expression. "Gee, what did I miss?" Her face was all red as she fanned it vigorously.

Akane was a close second in blushing. She opened her mouth, probably to insist they were just kidding around, but Hattori waved her hands in the air to stop her. "N-never mind! Not in front of the food."

"But, Hatsu-ch—"

"I said never mind!" she howled, attracting attention from other customers too. She laughed heartily.

Despite the fact that Sousuke probably should've dispelled any idea she might have about him and Akane being anything more than friends, Sousuke laughed too. And when he did, Akane flushed harder. Still, there was a smile on her lips while she hissed at them to stop making a commotion.

Eventually, she did get to trying the takoyaki they bought which she admitted tasted good. They chatted while they ate and Hattori was polite enough not to probe at their relationship (or lack of one) so it was light, idle, but not at all boring. It was different, to say the least, just hanging out with Akane.

Sure, they had kind of done it before but they had been avoiding the topic of the pregnancy at the time, and they were usually alone. It helped Sousuke think they might be able to maintain a real friendship after the mishap, after all.

The three didn't get to talk long enough for there to be a lapse in conversation, even, because Sousuke soon had to excuse himself for his appointment. The girls waved him goodbye as he got up—Hattori very enthusiastically and Akane with a smile that was a little too warm than he would've liked from just a friend.

*

_'How was your appointment?'_

Sousuke received the message hours ago, apparently, but had completely forgot to view it after seeing his therapist. He read it now as he entered his dorm.

Hearing the front door open and close, Rin looked up from his desk and glanced over his shoulder. "Oh, hey. You must've gotten up pretty early, Sou, you were gone by the time I woke up."

Sousuke spared his roommate some attention, dumping his bag by the closet and plopping himself heavily onto the other chair beside Rin. "Uh, yeah, I went to see Akane." To the girl, he replied, _'Uneventful. How was shopping?'_

Her reply came almost immediately. _'I'm completely worn out!'_ The crying emoji at the end made Sousuke laugh. As he did, a photo loaded into their chat. Akane had taken a picture of herself through the mirror, wearing a blue shirt that well complemented the shape of her body. Sousuke wondered if she was doing what she did on purpose.

_'What do you think?'_

_'It looks good on you.'_

_'I'll buy it then.'_

Sousuke squinted at the message. _'Jeez, are you still there?'_

_'Yeah...?'_

_'This is why I'll never understand girls.'_

_'This is why you’re still single.'_

He laughed at that.

"Yeah, you're definitely not listening to me."

The remark came from Rin who, when Sousuke looked up, was giving a half-hearted smile. Scratching the back of his neck, Sousuke had enough sense to appear sheepish. He knew he wasn't being the greatest friend these days. "Sorry, Rin."

Rin shrugged. "Didn't think you'd be one of those guys who forget their friends when they get a girlfriend." He carded a hand through his maroon hair and leaned back in his chair, spinning it to face his roommate.

"I'm not, I swear." Sousuke raised both his hands in surrender, abandoning his phone on the desk. "And she's not my girlfriend."

"Right."

"Seriously. Akane and I, uh, we talked about it today. We're just friends."

Raising an eyebrow, Rin didn't look too convinced but huffed in defeat. He kicked the other's leg playfully. "You're seeing her a lot for someone who's _just a friend_. I'm a little jealous." He gave a meaningful look.

Sousuke chuckled a little. "Call it a phase. Starting tomorrow, everything's going back to normal." Whatever that meant.

*

Apparently, it meant no skipping or interruption of swim meets. Sousuke spent a lot of time on his phone though because Akane was quite the texter. They didn't talk much between classes or in the evening but he began to expect a message from her every night.

Rin teased him the first few nights but got used to it eventually. It was fine. In fact, aside from that, it really did feel like the whole misunderstanding about the pregnancy never even happened.

That was how it was on Sousuke's end anyway.

For Akane, she knew she probably looked forward to their nightly chats more than she should. They talked about anything from what they had for dinner to how her follow-up appointment with Doctor Ishikawa went.

Who knew how long that kind of friendship would've lasted because the pair didn't have a reason to meet up. So they didn't meet up. After two weeks, the frequency of their texts was even dying down.

It was too bad.

That particular weekend was probably going to be boring, Akane thought. On the doctor's advice, the girl spent a bit more time with her friends throughout the week so she didn't feel like doing even more of that over the weekend.

Staying home and relaxing sounded, well, relaxing enough.

She had the house to herself. Her parents were on a trip to Hokkaido for their anniversary and Chigusa was going to sleepover at her friend Gou's house for a few days. It was going to be a long one, what with Chigusa heading over on Friday evening and planning to head to school with Gou on Monday morning so she'd only be returning that evening.

Expectedly, she had quite a bit of luggage for the sleepover so Akane had to drive her and the bags to the Matsuoka home on Friday.

"You could've brought all your stuff to school and headed home with Gou-chan after school today, instead, you know," Akane reasoned as they made the drive.

Chigusa glared lightly. "Don't be like that, neechan. I'll carry luggage to school if I want to the laughing stock of my whole year." Her older sister chuckled at the thought so she smacked her arm. "Hey, don't imagine it!"

Akane only laughed harder. She may be complaining but she really had no qualms about sending her sister off. She even helped to carry Chigusa's bags into the house when they got there.

That was until Rin took them from her.

She almost forgot that Sousuke's roommate was Gou's brother. Rin didn't seem to know that little fact because he looked surprised when he saw Akane. "Hey, you're Hanamura, right? Sou's friend."

"Matsuoka-san." She nodded, thanking him as he took the bags from her hands. She walked with him to the front door. Akane smiled embarrassedly. "Uhm, most people call my sister Hana so that's going to be confusing. You can call me Akane, if you want."

She rarely had to say that—the siblings didn't hang around the same crowd much so it wasn’t much of an issue before now.

"Alright, Akane. Same to you. Just Rin is fine." He smiled, putting down the bags at the bottom of the staircase for the younger girls to fetch later. "Good thing too, I guess. We're more connected than I realized."

The girl laughed. "Hard to believe we've never really met before, right?"

"Yeah, especially with how close you've gotten to Sousuke."

"That's only pretty recent though."

"I find that hard to believe since you guys are always chatting." Rin walked the other back to her car outside.

Akane could feel a blush coming on but fought it. "We're just friends, Rin."

The boy blinked and then smiled meaningfully. "I never said you weren't," he pointed out. How could Akane not turn red at that? But seeing that, Rin laughed good-naturedly. "Okay, to be fair, I _did_ think you were at first. You guys kind of had a vibe whenever I saw you together. And Sou seems to enjoy texting you."

"Oh." If Sousuke were here, he'd point out how she used that monosyllabic response when she knew he did something nice. Then again, if he _were_ here, would he deny what his friend was saying? Akane hoped not as she shook these thoughts out of her head. "Anyway, you're home for the weekend?"

"Nah, just picking something up. I'm heading back to my dorm in a bit."

"Take care then. Nice meeting you properly, Rin," Akane said as she entered the car, starting up the engine. The boy returned the sentiment and waved her goodbye as she drove away.

Something about seeing Rin urged the girl to pull out her phone when she got home. _'I just met your roommate,'_ she told Sousuke.

Minutes later, he responded. _'Did he say something?'_

_'Paranoid much? Come over and I’ll tell you.'_

_'Is this going to be like when you baited me by implying your dad said something about me?'_

_'Maybe.'_

_'No, thanks.'_

Akane laughed. _'Come on, no one's going to be home all weekend. I'll be bored. Entertain me.'_ She sent a crying emoji for emphasis.

It took Sousuke a moment to answer her, long enough to make her worry if what she said sounded like a booty call. It really wasn't! To be honest, she just missed hanging out with the guy. Their banter wasn't as fun over text.

Just as she was about to apologize for her previous text, her phone dinged.

_'I have another appointment tomorrow but how's Sunday?'_


	11. ELEVEN

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh jeez, sorry it's been so long. But uhhhhhh, yeah! The story's not over yet.

Sousuke rang the doorbell. When there was no answer, he rang it again and called out, "It's Sousuke." Did that sound too casual? Good thing her parents weren't home then.

Her parents weren't home. Neither was Chigusa.

It would just be the two of them today—kind of like old times. Or not. Sousuke wasn't quite sure what to make of Akane's invitation when she sent it but they were just friends so he probably shouldn't read into it too much.

As Sousuke stood there in front of her door, suddenly feeling like he forgot how to stand properly, he pushed the anxious thoughts to the back of his mind. It was too late to turn back now, anyway.

When Akane shouted a response from inside the house after the second ring, he couldn't decide whether to lean on a wall while he waited or keep his hands in his pockets or fold his arms across his chest or _what_.

By the time the boy settled into a comfortable stance, the door suddenly flew open and Sousuke straightened himself stiffly. The happy grin on Akane's face changed to one of amusement. "At ease, Yamazaki."

The other rolled his eyes but smiled. "Shut up."

Akane giggled and gestured for him to enter, taking his jacket when he did. "I hope you like miso soup."

"Oh, I've already eaten."

"What?!"

Sousuke whirled around in surprise at the sudden shout and then burst out laughing. "I'm kidding, Akane. Damn, don't look so offended." He smirked at her, though it came out less smug than he intended.

Akane was embarrassed but she stepped past him so to turn her back to him, hiding her face. "You certainly haven't changed."

Sousuke followed her into the dining area. "It's only been, what, a week?" he pointed out.

"It felt longer." Akane shrugged.

"Aw, did you miss me?"

"Hah, don't flatter yourself! It's only because I'm used to seeing you every single day." She wasn't complaining so she hoped it didn't come off that way. To see his reaction, she turned.

Sousuke was smiling. He had a killer smile, the kind that could make any girl blush when they saw it. Akane missed it. She pulled her eyes away and gestured to the kitchen. "So… miso soup?"

The boy sat at the table, taking the same seat he used the day he had dinner with the Hanamura family. "Made it yourself?" he asked, watching Akane prepare their bowls for them.

"Of—"

"Dumb question, sorry." Sousuke chuckled to himself. "Of course, you did."

Akane glared at him over her shoulder. "So you know it'll be good."

"Ooh, that sounded awfully confident."

"Because I am." Akane laughed too as she brought their full bowls to the table, sitting across from the other. "I'm on a roll today. I didn't even spill anything on my hand."

Sousuke snorted which only made the girl laugh harder.

*

"So you saw Doctor Ishikawa again, right? How was that?"

Akane inhaled deeply, fingering the rim of her glass. Their now empty bowls had already been pushed to one end of the table, out of the way between them. "Fine, I guess. Ugh, I don't know what I would've done if I…"

Sousuke quirked an eyebrow. "If you what?"

"If I didn't have you with me—at the time. It was _your_ idea to actually see a doctor. Left to my own devices, I'd probably still be waiting for a baby bump or something." She laughed depreciatively.

The boy shook his head. "Nah, I'm sure you would've figured it out quickly anyway. You're one of the most mature girls I've ever met."

Akane winced. "Was that supposed to be a compliment?"

"A failed one, apparently." They both laughed. Sousuke smiled. "I mean, even if I wasn't there, you have Hattori-chan."

"Right, about that… I told her." Akane fingered the tips of her hair. "I'm sorry. She's my best friend—"

"Don't worry about it." Sousuke waved a hand dismissively but smiled to show he harboured no hard feelings.

"You can tell Rin, if you want."

"Honestly? I don't feel like I need to talk about this with anyone. Other than you anyway. But yeah, I guess I do owe him an explanation for… my behaviour."

"What behaviour would that be?" Akane looked like she thought she was to blame.

So the other stretched the truth a little. "Mostly the practice skips, I guess." And the fact that he had been very distracted. It was a bit unfair of Akane to occupy his thoughts so much even when they were apart.

He wondered if he had the same effect on her. Before Sousuke could find a way to ask that without sounding strange, Akane perked up suddenly. "You want to watch a movie?"

Sousuke quirked an eyebrow upwards, amused. "How long are you trying to keep me around?"

"Just until the assassin I hired gets here."

He laughed. "Then let me finish the movie, at least."

The pair stood and brought their plates and utensils to the sink but when Sousuke started to do the dishes, Akane stopped him. Insisting to do them herself, she urged him to go and pick a movie instead. He was the guest, after all.

Sousuke took her up on her offer and headed into the living room.

He meant to go straight for the television, he really did, but something else caught his eye. The row of framed pictures on a wooden cabinet. He remembered wanting to look at them more closely the last time he was here but didn’t get the chance. He went to check them out now.

There were a ton of photos, some obviously old and some new. Sousuke easily recognized his friend in most of them, even when she looked, what, ten?

Actually, that was a really cute picture.

Sousuke picked it up and smiled. _Yes, cute._

Young Akane was standing in front of a pot on a familiar stove, smiling shyly. Large mittens covered her forearms, poised like she was mid-way through stirring the contents in the pot. Was that Chigusa in the background? Even in the frame, Sousuke could see the yellowed edges of the photograph.

"I gave you one job. You have real trouble taking orders, huh?"

Then Akane was next to him, leaning in to see the picture. Instinctively, Sousuke held it out a little so the girl wouldn't press against him. "You looked adorable."

Was it just him or did Akane's cheeks flush as she took the framed photo from his hands? "This was the first time I really cooked for my family," she said.

"You were cooking at _ten years old_?"

"Twelve!" Akane shot back, sounding offended but laughing.

"Still young. How did that happen?"

The girl shrugged, putting the picture back in its place. "Our parents had work. Babysitter knocked out. Chigusa was hungry so I tried to make fried rice but it was a disaster."

Sousuke was watching her but she didn't look at him. "I find that hard to believe."

"Trust me, it was!" Akane fingered a lock of hair on her shoulder. "Mom and dad came home before we could start eating though. So they sent our babysitter off and we all had dinner together. The fried rice was… _way_ too spicy, among other things." She laughed at herself before smiling. "But they ate it all anyway."

Finally, Akane lifted her gaze to meet the other's. But then she looked away again, shrugging. "I knew it was terrible but with that kind of support, I decided to keep at it. You know, make something my family would actually like. Make them proud."

Despite her casual tone, the boy could tell this was a meaningful story for her. After a few beats of silence, he said, "Well from what I can tell, your parents seem plenty proud."

"Thanks." She sounded shy but their eyes had locked then and neither could look away.

Sousuke thought of kissing her.

But then Akane picked up another frame and put it in his hands. " _That's_ me at ten." She tapped a finger at a young girl with dark brown hair just barely reaching her shoulders. The rest of her family was with her in this one. Chigusa was holding one of her hands and their mother held the other. Her father had an arm around his wife's shoulders. The gateway to a zoo loomed behind them.

"You looked eight."

Clicking her tongue, Akane smacked the boy's shoulder as she laughed. He tapped on the girl in the photo too. "Your eyes were red," he pointed out.

Akane squinted to make sure. "Oh." Heat rose to her cheeks. "I got lost at the zoo once. This was after they found me."

Sousuke snorted.

"Shut up."

"Sorry, I'm just imagining Hanamura Akane being a cry baby."

"Hey, it was the first time I ever got lost, okay?" she said defensively, rolling her eyes. She put the photo down. "Alright, Sousuke, your turn."

"My turn to what?"

"Tell me something about you."

"Like what?"

She snorted this time. "How am I supposed to know? Anything! It's only fair you tell me something you haven't told anyone too."

"You've never told anyone you got lost at a zoo?"

"I've never told anyone about the first time I cooked."

Sousuke paused, thinking about what that meant. His heart felt warm and it made him feel a little bashful, all of a sudden. He shrugged. "What do you want to know?"

A few seconds passed before Akane pointed decisively to his right shoulder. "What happened? You never said."

"I was a bit preoccupied then," he noted, remembering the first time the topic of his injury came up with Akane. The night they met.

It seems the other was recalling that memory too because she blushed. It failed to distract her though. "What happened to your shoulder?" she asked again.

Sousuke breathed out, finding a point to begin with. "Uh… Summer. Second year of high school. Uh, no, I guess that's not really accurate. That's when my shoulder truly broke down but it started hurting long before that. I didn't realize it until it was too late." Wow, he was really telling her all this, huh? Subconsciously, he touched his shoulder.

"I wanted to compete with Rin—he was off in Australia then. So I trained. But I trained too hard and now I probably never will compete with Rin again. I had to quit."

Akane blinked at him, taking a tentative step forward. "But you _are_ swimming."

"And it's making my injury worse."

"Then stop."

"It's not that easy."

"Why not?"

"I don't want to." The statement surprised him. Sousuke had always known it but saying it out loud was like acknowledging it as a truth. He loved swimming. To have to give that up… he couldn't do that. He realized how much he'd risk for a few more laps with someone he enjoyed swimming with.

Akane was watching him, as if she could see the epiphany behind his cerulean eyes. Without him realizing it, she was close to him again. Close enough to touch. He wanted to. But she beat him to the punch, touching his hand lightly, as if to comfort him. "Maybe you can get—"

Sousuke's eyes flicked to the side. "I don't want to talk about that, Akane. Sorry."

"O-oh." She sounded a bit dejected. Then: "Can I see it?"

"What?"

"Your shoulder. Your injury. I want to see it."

Sousuke smirked just the slightest bit. "You're demanding today." But he turned and pulled his shirt off over his head, pushing his self-consciousness to the back of his mind. Akane had seen a lot more of him than this.

He felt a hand on his right shoulder blade and stiffened immediately.

"Sorry," he heard Akane say behind him.

"It's fine," he muttered back. Then the hand was back, touching his shoulder lightly. Did she expect to find a bruise or something? Something that would indicate to anyone else who saw it that it was injured? There wasn't one, of course. No one would let him get away with joining the swim club while injured, if they knew.

He went to physical therapy as often as if he could to repair it but only managed in just hiding some effects of the injury.

But Akane touched him anyway, her warms hands moving tentatively from his back to the edge of his shoulders and then, more firmly, to his arm. In seconds, she had already circled around to face him, her hand and eyes still on his shoulder.

Sousuke watched her watching him, trying to figure out what she was thinking. What she wanted to do. So when she looked up, their eyes met.

Then he kissed Akane, like he wanted to since she answered the door that night—and maybe since before that. Akane kissed back with a fervour and Sousuke melted into the familiar feeling, the familiar taste of cherry lips. He wondered if she had planned for this. Did she invite him over while her family was away, while she knew they wouldn't be back for another day, so the two of them could act on the unspoken thing between them?

Whatever the context, Sousuke was grateful for this. His hands on her hips, he guided them to the couch so they could kiss on a proper surface. And so his suddenly weak knees wouldn't give out on him at a crucial moment.

He pulled away long enough to say, "You have no idea how long I've wanted this."

Akane didn't respond with anything but a breathy sigh of his name, pulling his face to hers to connect their lips in a heated kiss again. Then they were on the couch, Sousuke on top of her and her hands in his dark hair.

"Sousuke," she whispered again, into his ear. In a way that made the boy's whole body shudder.

There was something else to his desire for her this time, he knew that. Something more intimate, more emotional. And as Sousuke started to wonder how hard he had fallen for this girl, she pulled away.

His lips tried to follow her but Akane put a hand on his chest to stop him.

"What's wrong?" His unhooded eyes searching for a reason in hers.

But all he saw were uncertain irises staring back at him. Akane shifted so Sousuke sat up, allowing her to get out from under him. She stood, holding her head and muttering something repeatedly. Something that sounded like, _"No."_

What a mood killer.

Sousuke watched her pace for a few seconds, uncertain too now, before deciding it was probably a good idea to put his shirt back on. He did so and then saw Akane looking at him, guilt in her obsidian eyes. She looked away, gripping her arms.

The boy walked over to her and put his hands over hers, willing them to loosen their death grip. "Hey, it's okay." He smiled, hoping to reassure her as well as himself.

Akane blinked at him, stepping away from him and his touch. "No."

"No, what?"

She said nothing.

"Akane, I like you."

"Stop it."

"I mean it."

"And _I_ mean it when I said stop it, Sousuke,” she bit back. She clicked her tongue, sounding frustrated.

Now Sousuke was seriously confused. He couldn't have read the mood that wrongly, could he?

Akane met his eyes dead-on. "You don't like me, okay? We slept together and the pregnancy thing just… just made us think we had to like each other."

"That's…" Sousuke furrowed his eyebrows, not sure what he was going to say himself. " _What?_ "

"This isn't how it should be. It's supposed to be dating first, then sex, then… the rest. Having sex first, the pregnancy scare, it messes things up."

Sousuke took one of her hands into his, shaking his head. "Akane, I'm not just trying to get in your pants again. It's not just lust, okay? I really like y—"

"How are you so sure?" Akane yanked her hand away which, to Sousuke, felt like a slap in the face. "We thought we were going to have a _kid_ , Sousuke. Of course, we'd try to get along with each other. The leftover feelings are just that. Leftovers.

"When we first met, neither of us were the relationship type. And suddenly, you _want_ that now? Can you honestly say we'd have these feelings if we met under normal circumstances?"

The boy stared at her. In the silence, the distance between them grew. Akane's eyes were unreadable while Sousuke would bet he had hurt in his.

How could she say that?

Finally, his gaze hardened. When he spoke, he barely recognized his own voice. "You're the only one confused here, Akane."

Surprised flashed across Akane's face but Sousuke turned his back on her so he couldn't see her next expression. If she looked hurt, this would only be more difficult for him. But if she turned even colder, _he'd_  be getting hurt—and he had enough of that for one day.

This. This was why he didn't want to fall for anyone.

Sousuke grabbed his stuff and left the Hanamura home, walking away without looking back. Akane let him.


End file.
